Mathew Wood, real estate expert from Hola Properties, based in Lanjarón, reveals why rejecting professional tactics when selling your property in Spain can lead to a bad deal or no sale….
WE’VE ALL heard it. Someone saying they want to sell their property in Spain asap – but they would rather not pay a pesky estate agent. They can do it cheaply themselves, avoid agency fees, only pay a property listing website an annual fee, and everything will be hunky-dory. Buyers will come of their own accord, pretty much!
“Let’s just get it listed.” Then the property in Spain sits on the market for…. years… costing money in terms of local taxes and utilities, and looking as stale as a baguette left out in the sun.
Plans don’t make for fools
In the world of estate agency, plans do not make for fools! They make for selling your property in Spain within a decent timeframe by targeting it at the right buyers from the start. Marketing without a plan doesn’t just reduce your chances of success – it can cost you thousands of Euros.
There are many things that can go wrong by using amateur methods to sell your property in Spain. This means that you are proceeding without the proper research, legal knowledge, and market knowledge to ensure a prompt and correctly-priced sale.
So, what are the main five things that can go wrong?
1. Incorrect pricing for your property in Spain
The most serious buyers come early — frequently in the first four to six weeks of a property in Spain being listed. If your price is too high – or oddly low – you lose them. They scroll past. You miss that all-important first wave of interest.
Later on, even if you adjust the price, buyers will think “Why hasn’t it sold already?” They might speculate that there is something wrong with the property Is it damp? Falling apart? In a flood zone? These are just some random examples of what could be imagined!
It’s important to use real, comparable, market data when pricing your property — not inflated portal listings.
Property should be valued honestly and accurately, by a seasoned professional – not by guesswork.
2. Browsers, not buyers for your property in Spain
If your video is shaky, your photos dark with distorted ‘ verticals’, and your listing vague, you’ll get attention — but not the right kind!
You might attract viewers who are curious or fancy “a nice day out viewing some properties”. South of Granada experienced visitors who thought it would be fun to book a guided tour of a white village, and all the properties for sale there. They had zero intention of investing in Spanish real estate! Even if you do attract buyers with funds, they might not be serious or your correct target market. Maybe you have a ‘finca’ 10km up a rural track and they really want a townhouse with a garden. And so on.
A well-prepared listing should create clarity and emotional appeal — not confusion. Professional marketing communicates the value of your home (or other type of property) to the exact people seeking that sort of investment. It certainly does not apply the “scattergun” approach. In publicity terms, that means literally shooting it out at all and sundry, hoping to find a mark!
3. Waste your time fixing things later
Industry professionals have seen it over and over again! A property goes live, a buyer appears, and the deal collapses because the paperwork is incomplete, the property doesn’t match the title deeds, and the seller doesn’t have the right certificates to proceed. Selling your property in Spain requires preparation!
Instead of negotiating a great price, the seller is running around chasing paperwork, and panicking because they don’t really know what they are doing or where to start!
Don’t let that person be you. Solicit the advice of people who know what they are doing!
4. Lose momentum — and then lower your price
Every month, your property sits unsold, it becomes harder to sell. Buyers assume something must be wrong. You feel pressure to reduce the price. And what could have been a strong sale starts slipping away.
The same photos (possibly bad ones!) appearing on Rightmove are skipped past by the buyers, who have seen them all before. They don’t even want to view your listing. Yawn!
A proper plan from day one helps you to launch with impact — and sell while the market is on your side.
5. You hire an unscrupulous agent
When your property doesn’t sell for ages, perhaps you will then contract an estate agent, insisting on the same high price. However, a good agent is unlikely to agree to proceed with the wrong price, and without a specifically agreed – and effective – marketing strategy.
Any agent that ask “how much do you want”, but isn’t able to show you any comparable market analysis, probably doesn’t have a strategic plan and might not put much energy into finding a buyer. However, a good agent will establish the correct price and marketing materials from the start.
When a listing launches badly, even the best agent will struggle to build traction again!
That means less attention from their buyer pool, because the listing is stale.
Start strongly by making your property launch count. Consulting trained professionals is a means of ensuring you don’t fall into the common pitfalls.
Selling a home is a big decision. It deserves to be more than an attempted rush job.
