Is It Possible To Sell Property Without An Agent?
The simple answer to the question is – yes it is possible for property owners to sell by themselves. There is no law in Singapore that says one cannot sell the property of his / her own! But for that they need to be equipped with related information, should know in and outs of property selling and must have an idea about the selling procedure.
In a demand driven real estate market like Singapore, owners often think of selling their existing property and buying a new one. With the continuation of price cooling off since mid 2013, many property owners have already sold their property in a bid to hunt for new ones. Urban Redevelopment Authority announced that about 27,000 public housing flats will be ready to sell in 2014. And according to industry experts, 95,000 new private units will come on the market over the next five years. This opens a wide door for property owners to consider selling the existing one and buy a brand new one. Any kind of investment rolling is good as far as it is good efficiently. But would they sell on their own or hire a real estate agent?
Real estate agents certainly carry enormous information. It is easy for them to make the correct decision with the data, information and buyers list that they have. But over the past decade, the Internet has essentially changed the face of real estate market and buying / selling procedure. With the rise of many effective online real-estate tools, life has become easy for owners to have the resources and information that they need to sell the property at ease.
The internet has as well become a perfect place to market the property. There are many fine websites in Singapore that owners can use to present their property in front of prospective buyers. Propertyguru is one such website. And there are others. One can open an account and list the property in the selling section. A picture or two of the property is must along with description. A little marketing skill is necessary too. It is because potential buyers will come to see the house. To many, selling is considered as an art. The owner has to know the right words to say when buyers come. For evaluating the price of the property, owners can always look into the neighborhood and online resources. To understanding the selling trend, searching in the local search engines is also a good idea.
Real estate agents are not lawyers and selling a property is not a court case. Any well informed property owner can take care of the documentation. Paperwork can be a little time consuming but it is not difficult to do. However, it is a good idea to appoint a solicitor to check that all the transfer and sales documents are in order and it protects the seller’s interests.
The gain resulting from the property sales is considered as a capital gain in Singapore, and thus is not taxable. But once the property is sold, the owner should notify IRAS for future references. However, if it is a HDB flat, the IRAS need not to be told; HDB will notify IRAS itself.
The main service that real estate agents provide is convenience. If any property owner has time, can take care documentation, figure out the right price and reach out to potential buyers, than they should indeed try to sell of his / her own. It is not piece of a cake but not piece of a stone either.
Singapore’s private residential property price index dropped 0.8% to 214.5 points in the last quarter of 2013, after it added 0.4% in the third quarter, according to the Urban Redevelopment Authority. It means that the market has slowed down. Therefore, any property owner planning to sell existing one and buy a new one should act now to ensure maximum gain. And to gain a little more from the trade, selling the property by themselves is not a bad idea at all!
For information on real estate sector, investment options, and home loans, visit iMoney.
Magically yours,
SG Wealth Builder
