ON THE MOVE:2013 might be the year for you to trade-up, trade-down or just sell out of Ireland altogether

Since our search began, all our attention has been focused on properties to buy.

It’s a frustrating process, but could be a lot more so, given that the drop in prices has meant that areas which would previously have been out of reach might now be achievable.

However, we found ourselves on the other side of the equation before Christmas, when I got our house valued. And it wasn’t as attractive a position to be in.

Thanks to the property register, I had a fair idea of what to expect but, human nature being what it is, there will always be a part of you that thinks “yeah but my house is different”.

It turns out it’s not so different after all. After quickly calculating just how much we’ve lost since we bought it – if, of course, there is even a market for it – I recovered some perspective by consoling myself that the prices of houses we’re now looking at have also declined drastically.

If you’re inclined to think like this too, and aren’t trapped in the grip of negative equity, then 2013 might be the year for you to trade-up, trade-down or just sell out of Ireland altogether. If you’re considering this, what do you need to know to increase your chances of getting your property sold within a reasonable time-frame and without several heart attacks along the way?

DIY sale

The first step is probably determining how you will sell your house. Selling it yourself might be a consideration, through an outlet like sellityourself.ie, which charges €195 for a listing. There is something to be said for taking control of selling your most valuable asset yourself, but the downside is that you will have to take on board all the viewings and the negotiation process, which can be both time consuming and mentally intensive. And for some reason, dealing with the vendor themselves can put off some buyers.

The other option is to appoint an estate agent, and it’s worth taking some time to find someone you’re happy with. Don’t get swayed by someone promising you a high sale price – one agent told me that prices had jumped by 10 per cent in our area, but there was no evidence of this on the price register. Also, estate agents are running at low capacity, so be confident that the agent you appoint will have the resources to put the time and effort into selling your house. We recently attended a house viewing that was scheduled for 9.45am. When we turned up 15 minutes later at 10am, the agent was about to lock up and told us we could have a “quick run around” because he had to be somewhere else.

On the other hand, don’t let your judgment be clouded by just how good your house is. While you might think your house will sell itself on its own merits, a good agent can point out benefits of the house buyers might never have noticed on their own and can facilitate a more straightforward sale.

Asking price

The next tricky decision to make is determining the asking price. As mentioned, don't get sucked into tales of a vibrant market in your area – get onto the property price register and do your own research. It will help if you can see the differential between the sale prices achieved and the original asking price for properties – myhome.iecan be useful in this respect.

Choosing an appropriate asking price will be key in getting some much-needed momentum behind your property. Go too high, even if you’re prepared to settle for less, and you risk putting off potential buyers who feel it is out of their range. We delayed viewing one house we eventually ended up bidding on because it was priced so much higher than other properties in the area – but when we viewed it the agent said bids of €50,000 less would be considered.

The other option is to go low to bring in the punters; but people seem to have factored in a discount on the asking price, so unless it’s a house that will attract significant interest which will push the price up, it could be a risky strategy.

All going well, if you have a well judged asking price you should start getting bids given the level of demand out there – but another word of advice here. In the current environment not all bidders are equal: just because one bids more than another doesn’t mean that they can go through with the deal. Maybe they have been given mortgage approval for a lesser amount and can’t get the extra financing needed to close the deal; or maybe they never got it in the first place. In any case, it can sometimes pay to opt for a safe buyer: my experience of seeing houses come back on the market after going ‘sale agreed’ would suggest this.

And another thing. ‘Sale agreed’ means just that – the buyer has ‘agreed’ to buy the house, but there is no guarantee that it will go through. So refrain from popping the champagne cork until the sale is finalised – otherwise you might be setting yourself up for disappointment.

Now get that house on the market!