The Price Conversation Is a Character Test

The first conversation about price shows more about an estate agent than any other moment in a sale, because it is the moment when flattering the seller is easiest.

A seller in Polokwane has a number in mind, often taken from what a neighbour claimed to get, or from what the house cost plus every renovation since. An agent who agrees with that number wins the mandate on the spot. An agent who arrives with recent registered sales from the same suburb, with stand sizes and condition, may lose it.

The flattering price tends to play out in a familiar way. The house goes onto the portals, gets plenty of clicks and very few viewings, and basically sits. After a couple of months the price drops, buyers start wondering what is wrong with it, and the eventual sale can land below where an honest price would have started. All the while the seller has been carrying the bond, the rates and the levies.

The honest agent pays for the truth up front. The seller pays for the flattery later, and often never realises who sent the bill.