Fortune Favours the Prepared
In a fast-moving market where popular properties are being snapped up almost immediately once they are released into the market, home seekers who are not kept in the loop with regards to the latest property market trends may be caught unawares when they try to enter the market.
Undeniably, in a fast-moving market, fortune favours those who are prepared and in several instances, we hear clients lamenting that they lost out on a particular property simply because they have yet to sell their current property and were not even able to offer yet.
For most home seekers, the dilemma often revolves around the same two questions:
- What if I sell and I don’t find something I like?
- What if I see something I like, but I haven’t sold my property yet?
Indeed, this chicken-and-egg conundrum is what causes the inertia and hesitation for most home seekers who are looking to buy and sell at the same time.
The Clock Is Ticking
It was another Friday in the first week of April when PropertyLimBrothers received an urgent call from a seller who asked to meet up soonest with our team to find out more about how we might be able to help him and his partner sell off their property at Hillview Regency.
Sensing that this was a time-critical case, a consultation session with the PropertyLimBrothers team was swiftly set up that very same weekend where we met up with the sellers to find out more.
During the session, the seller shared that he and his partner had viewed a landed property that they finally agreed they loved but realised they could not put up an offer because they have not even started marketing their current unit yet.
They knew that if they did not make the move to offer soon, that unit would most definitely be snapped up by another buyer and were in urgent need of a team that could help them achieve their goal of selling their current property at Hillview Regency fast, hence their decision to reach out to the PropertyLimBrothers team.
Knowledge Is Power
In detail, we went through the whole process and timeline of buying and selling, explaining the important milestones to take note of as well as the finance calculations.
Fortunately, the sellers had already decoupled and so would not be hit by the hefty ABSD that plagues most sellers.
They did, however, require the cash and CPF funds from the sale of their current unit to go into their next purchase. Hence in order to proceed with the purchase, the sale of their current property had to happen fast.
We advised the couple to negotiate for at least a 3-months option period as they had not even started marketing their unit yet.
Armed with the information that we had shared, the sellers went to negotiate with the agent for their purchase side while we prepared our PLB Marketing Proposal for them after assessing the condition and the needs of their house.
Think Fast, Act Fast – How We Prepped, Staged and Filmed the House within 5 days
A lot of forward planning had to be done for this unit.
While the seller was in negotiations with the agent for his purchase side, dates were quickly secured first for touch-up works, staging, photo shoot, 3D Virtual Tour and Signature Home Tour shoot.
When the seller finally came back to us, the best he managed to negotiate was a two-months option period as the other side was unwilling to grant him more time. We knew at once that time was of the essence and we had to move fast.
While the initial home tour shoot date we secured was to happen 3 weeks later, it was fortuitous that another colleague suddenly had to postpone the home tour shoot for another listing that was to happen the following week. Even though there was less than a week’s time to prepare for the entire shoot, we knew that time was of the essence and the difference of 2 weeks would make a world of a difference. Without hesitation, we swooped in and took over that slot instead.
Once again, we had to re-arrange the dates for staging and touch-up works with our respective vendors who thankfully, were able to accommodate the last minute changes into their tight schedules. Several late nights were also spent doing intensive research to highlight their unit’s specific unique selling points so as to prepare for the home tour video shoot.
In the end, with good teamwork with our various partners and colleagues, the PropertyLimBrothers team staged the house, did the touch-up works, took photos, shot the virtual tour and video home tour at lightning speed within the short timespan of one week from the date the exclusive was signed.
Re-aligning Priorities
As this was an urgent case, the photos and virtual tour were launched on the various property portals once they were ready.
In a hot market, sellers would understandably want to fetch the highest and best possible price for their unit, especially when their unit is a well-renovated one and situated on the top floor with a premium facing overlooking the beautiful greenery from the Bukit Batok Nature Park and Xiao Guilin as well as the private landed enclave. If you were lucky enough, you might even be able to spot a full-arc rainbow from their window after a rainy day.
Indeed, looking at all the other units on sale within the project, this unit was probably one of the best, if not, then THE best unit available if one were looking for a 3-bedder unit within Hillview Regency.
If there had been no time constraints, the team undoubtedly has confidence that we would be able to find the right buyer to see the intrinsic value of the unit and be willing to meet close to the sellers’ ideal price.
Having said that, the reality is that we had the time pressure of less than two-month period to find a buyer who could offer AND exercise.
On that account, the team had to be cautious about being over-ambitious with the seller’s desired asking price of $1.38M which had a high cash-over-valuation component of more than $100,000 and would be the 3-bedder unit with the highest asking price within the project.
We advised the sellers that while we would still list at their asking price, we would observe the response on the ground and tweak as necessary. It was of paramount importance that they saw the bigger picture which was for them to sell the unit in order to proceed with their landed purchase.
In the first month, enquiries were slow with a total of 3 viewings spread across 4 weekends, with some buyers cancelling their viewing appointments as the common feedback was that the price point and the cash-over-valuation component was quite high for a 17-year old 99-Year leasehold project.
Swiftly, our team reviewed the response and feedback as well as studied the other listings that were on sale within the project and consulted with our sellers again.
With only a month left to find the right buyer, we advised the sellers that we had to be more aggressive and proposed a reverse pricing strategy to attract more buyers to view the unit since it was apparent that buyers were very much averse to having to pay a high amount of cash-over-valuation.
Revising from the initial asking price of $1.38M to $1.28M, our intentions were to sell the unit above indicative valuation and at least match the most recent top floor transaction of $1.27M, yet at the same time, be in line with the majority of the buyers’ budget.
The Time Is Now
After receiving our sellers’ blessings to go ahead with the price revision, we wasted no time in revising all the prices across the property portals and channels.
Within minutes (with no exaggeration), the enquiries started to come in and a total of 9 buyers came to view that very weekend.
Putting ourselves into the buyers’ shoes, our strategy was clear as well – if you were a buyer looking for a 3-bedder unit within Hillview Regency, given its unique selling points and price point, our unit would be the clear number one choice without a doubt. We did not want to give buyers reasons to consider any other 3-bedder unit that was listed there. This was something that all the buyers and agents who viewed our unit conceded to as well and we had several groups expressing strong interest in the unit.
The eventual buyers were a couple who had already sold off their house and were very ready buyers. They came to view the unit on Saturday and shared that they were planning to live together with their parents. Because of that, during the viewing, we also emphasised on the rare fact that one of the common bedrooms is as big as the master bedroom which means neither couple would have to sacrifice sleeping in a spacious bedroom. This was definitely a huge draw for them and they made their offer the following night.
After receiving our seller’s counter-offer, they requested to come down for a second viewing the following Wednesday, this time with their parents before making their final decision.
Having the foresight to plan, before the buyers came for their second viewing, we met up with the sellers to prepare the OTP as we sensed the buyers’ sincerity and strong interest in the unit.
When the buyers came to view, we told them that if they were really keen on the unit and accepted the counter-offer, we could issue them the OTP that same day. Sure enough, after they left the viewing, we received a call from them within twenty minutes and quickly met at the clubhouse to seal the deal where we exchanged the option fee and explained the OTP to them.
A Happy Ending
The sellers were so thrilled that they invited us to dinner that same evening as they wanted to treat us to a meal as a show of their appreciation. They expressed their sincere gratitude on how fast we had worked to help them to find the right buyer within such a short time frame and sell their unit at a good price as they knew it was not easy.
Meet The Agents
The listing was handled by Listing Manager, Alexa Loh, and Listing Specialist, Angela Yee with additional advisory from Listing Manager Wayne Tang, from the PropertyLimBrothers team.
Despite the immense time pressure that Alexa and Angela had to work under, the pair’s efficiency, active responsiveness and forward planning helped their clients to find the right buyers and sell their unit within the impressive time-frame of only 34 days from the day the client came onboard.
If you have a property that you want us to list on the market or are on the hunt for your next home, contact us here. PropertyLimBrothers, always happy to show you the place.
