Selling your property in Marbella or the Costa del Sol? Learn how to choose the right asking price by balancing market conditions, buyer expectations and your own circumstances.
What is my property worth, and what should I ask for it?
These are probably the two questions we are asked most often. Although they are closely related, they are not actually the same question.
Understanding the difference is one of the keys to deciding the right asking price for your Costa del Sol property.
There is rarely one correct asking price. The price you should put your property on the market for depends not only on the property itself, but also on your own circumstances, your objectives and the market conditions at the time you decide to sell.
Start with your own circumstances
Before looking at comparable properties or online valuations, the first question to ask yourself is: why are you selling?
Unlike many domestic housing markets, where sellers are generally moving from one property to another, Costa del Sol owners sell for a wide variety of reasons. You may no longer need a holiday home. You may be returning to your home country, releasing capital for another project, responding to family commitments or simply looking for a change.
Those reasons matter because they influence your pricing strategy. If achieving the highest possible price is your priority and you are happy to wait for the right buyer, you may choose one approach. If time is of the essence, a different strategy is likely to be more appropriate.
Online valuations are a useful starting point
These days, it is very easy to obtain an online valuation from a property portal or valuation website. These estimates can be a useful starting point, and there is nothing inherently wrong with them.
Like any source of information, however, it is important to understand what they are measuring. Some are based largely on asking prices for similar properties, while others rely on statistical models using floor area, location or cadastral information. They are using the information available to them and often doing exactly what they were designed to do. The difficulty is that they cannot fully assess many of the things that influence buyers most, such as presentation, views, orientation, privacy, natural light, the exact position within a community or simply the overall appeal of a property.
We often look at the same online estimates ourselves, not because we necessarily agree with them, but because they help us understand the expectations a seller may already have before we even meet.
Your asking price is a marketing decision
One of the biggest misconceptions about selling property is that the asking price is simply a statement of value. In truth, it is not. Your asking price is not a valuation. It is a marketing decision. It determines who sees your property, who decides to arrange a viewing and, perhaps most importantly, what they expect to see when they arrive.
Every price range attracts a different buyer
It may help to think of asking prices as a sliding scale. At one end of the scale is a price so attractive that you could probably guarantee finding a buyer very quickly. At the other end is a price so ambitious that very few buyers would even arrange a viewing. Somewhere between those two extremes lies the range where the most sensible marketing decisions are made.
Very few sellers deliberately choose either end of the spectrum. Most are looking for the balance between achieving a good price and finding a buyer within a reasonable timescale. That balance will be different for every owner. If you have time on your side, you may decide to market towards the upper end of that realistic range. If you need to sell more quickly, you may choose a more competitive position.
Neither is automatically right or wrong. The right choice depends on what you are trying to achieve.
Price changes expectations
Your asking price does more than influence negotiations. It changes what buyers expect.
Imagine a two-bedroom apartment being marketed within the price range where buyers expect to find a good two-bedroom apartment. They will compare it with other similar properties. Increase the asking price and, at some point, buyers begin comparing it with larger apartments. Increase it further and they may expect sea views, a better location or a higher specification.
The apartment itself has not changed. Only the comparison has. A property that represents excellent value in one price range can seem disappointing in another simply because buyers are measuring it against a different standard.
Why do some properties receive viewings but no offers?
This helps explain why some properties receive plenty of viewings but very few offers. The presentation attracts buyers, and they like what they see in the photographs, so they arrange a viewing. However, when they arrive, they were expecting something different for the money.
The photographs, description and asking price should all tell the same story. When expectations are realistic, buyers are much more likely to recognise the value of what they are seeing. In an ideal world, a buyer should walk through the front door and like the property even more than they expected to. If they are pleasantly surprised, you have given yourself the best possible chance of receiving an offer.
When buyers are expecting too much, disappointment often replaces enthusiasm, and viewings fail to become offers.
Valuation is both an art and a science
Estimating value is largely based on evidence. We look at comparable properties, asking prices, market activity and statistical data, all of which help build a picture. That is the science.
Choosing the asking price is where judgement comes in. No database can predict the point at which one particular buyer and one particular seller will decide to do business. That decision depends on motivation, competition, timing and countless human factors that cannot be measured by an algorithm.
The art of pricing a property is combining the elements of evidence and judgement to arrive at a sensible asking price.
The value of an experienced sounding board
One of the most valuable things an experienced estate agent can provide is not just a valuation, but an independent sounding board. Sometimes that means confirming your expectations. Sometimes it means challenging them. Our role is to help you understand the market as it is, explain what it is telling us and work with you to choose the pricing strategy that best reflects your circumstances and objectives.
There is no hidden "correct" asking price waiting to be discovered. There is simply the asking price that gives your property the best opportunity to achieve the result you want.
If you would like to discuss your property, your circumstances and your potential asking price, we are always happy to help without obligation. Call us on (0034) 952 90 52 00, WhatsApp us or email info@michael-moon.com.
