While the property market is showing signs of recovery in certain areas, in general house prices remain flat.

According to Carol Reynolds, Pam Golding Properties area principal for the Durban North and La Lucia areas there are a few areas where positive growth are experienced. However, South African property news highlights the importance of marketing your property at the right price.

“It is a noticeable trend in the marketplace that buyers continue to offer market-related prices on properties while sellers endeavour to come to terms with the reality that their homes may not achieve the prices they’d hoped for,” she notes in a statement.

Reynolds explains that the price of a property for sale is determined by what a “willing and able buyer is prepared to pay and what a bank will finance based on its own valuation of the property”.

Non-economic factors can also play a role. The seller might want to buy a bigger home for which he or she requires a certain amount of money. Reynolds warns that this need should not be used as a price barometer.

“The best way to establish price is by enlisting the services of an experienced agent, from a reputable company, who is an area specialist and has sold a number of properties within the vicinity of the seller’s home. An experienced agent will be able to substantiate his/her valuation with credible data,” she says.

Eventually, overpricing will be to the seller’s detriment as the property will take longer to sell.