Post Pandemic
About Us
Margaret’s has been going for 15 years now. And during this time we have had great success. With the pandemic, we thought it may be a good time
to reflect on the business. Note: we have changed our number of years of working in the industry to 38 (for Margaret) and 20 (for Brett)
respectively, ie 58 years of combined real estate experience!
We consider ourselves market share leaders in the area of Mowbray, Rosebank and Rondebosch, as well as "the most experienced agents",
plus we offer the best commission rate (4% no VAT)!
We have also learned to only work on a "Sole Mandate": (a) it is not easy for the other (so called "bigger" companies) to work at 4% (No VAT) and (b)
it is not in the sellers’ interest to have anything but a sole mandate.
Allow me to elaborate on the latter: many sellers (you – our clients), think it is best for them to have agents competing in order to sell their
home, whereas the opposite is true – you want buyers to compete to buy your home and NOT the agents! In a sole mandate, the agent (who you entrust
selling your home to) controls the buyers. It’s as simple as that, not to mention the saving on our lower commission rate (on a R 3 000 000 sale,
this can equate to a saving of R 130 000!)
The other important thing to consider when marketing your home, is the selling price. Again, many sellers think that setting a high selling price
allows for negotiation downwards. But we have seen it so many times over the years, that the home eventually sells for below market price.
In other words, let’s say we believe a home to be worth around R3 800 000. We would suggest marketing at R3 990 000 in the hope of achieving
a selling price as close to that in as little time as possible. Another estate agent would suggest marketing at R4 500 000 in order to get
R4 000 000 (less their commission remember). What happens is that after many months, that asking price is reduced to R4 000 000 and the
home might eventually then sell for say R3 800 000. We would have hoped to rather market (and price) correctly and sell more quickly
and at a better price with more in the client’s pocket at the end of the day.
Using this exact example above (and again we have seen this time and time again): Agent A starts marketing the property at R4 500 000 and does
not sell it for say 6 months. The seller then gets another agent involved at a reduced asking price (now R4 000 000). Agent B then sells
the property within 30 days at R3 800 000. Agent B now lists the statistics of the sale as follows: "sold within 30 days and within 95%
of asking price!". Sounds impressive, but sadly not accurate.
Another very important thing to consider when selling, is that today with modern technology, we are all "equal" in the sense that on the
internet (via search engines such as Private Property and Property 24), there is no such thing as "big" agency and "small" agency anymore,
the prospective buyer will see your home for sale, no matter who is selling it!
Our market
Hopefully, despite all the "doom & gloom", our area will still be very sought after and hence in demand. One of our clients (a home-owner who bought
in the area), said it took him a few months to realise how quickly it took him to get to work in the mornings and to get home in the evening! He
says he had at least 45 minutes to spare each way.
The market will correct itself and yes prices will decrease, but hopefully not hugely? In this market, as described above, marketing your most
valued asset correctly is of the utmost importance (and of course who you entrust it to)!
In order for the economy to recover, banks have to be helpful. We are pleased to learn, that in this regard, bond approvals to "first-time"
home buyers are at their highest since 2016! Good news indeed!
Interesting Statistics
According to "New World Wealth", the average selling price (per square meter) around the world is as follows:
- Tokyo: US$ 17 000
- Paris: US$ 18 000
- Zurich: US$ 20 000
- Sydney: US$ 25 000
- Hong Kong: US$ 28 000
- London: US$ 33 000
- Washington: US$ 8 900
- Cape Town: US$ 5 000
Keep well and stay safe!