Some sellers are taking steps to make the apartment stand out in a difficult market. – A ghost in the shower wouldn’t have made me want to buy the apartment more, says the manager of Eiendom Norge.
– It’s a difficult market. Many people know that selling a house is no fun right now. After all, prices are falling and interest rates are rising at record speed while everything else is getting more expensive too, says Jan Oftedal.
The apartment he is selling in Majorstuen in Oslo via his company Solgt is quoted at an asking price of NOK 9,990,000.
In many of the images, a person poses in a “Scream” costume – a move Oftedal hopes will catch the buyer’s interest.
There was a vision earlier this week, but the apartment was not sold. Oftedal is not surprised.
– It is not unusual for you to have to do several viewing rounds now.
However, the ad received more clicks than expected, which Oftedal says is due to the non-traditional images. However, he doesn’t believe it necessarily has to do with sales.
Data from Eiendom Norge earlier this month showed a 2.2 percent price drop in September. Now there is a shift in the real estate market, real estate agents reported in E24 recently.
VG has also written previously Claudio who have resorted to their website to sell the apartment, as well as Thea and Knut who are trying to sell homes in a sharply declining market.
– No effect
– A ghost in the shower wouldn’t make me want to buy the apartment more. These effects have no effect, either way. It’s probably primarily intended as an eye catcher to create attention, says Henning Lauridsen.
He is the CEO of Eiendom Norge, who provides monthly updates on real estate market developments.
Lauridsen says the market during the pandemic was good, until there was a change in August of this year.
– Then the number of houses that were dismantled began to grow. Prices have started to drop, and that’s a development we will see in the future as Norges Bank sticks to what it believes about future interest rate developments.
He predicts a weak market until Christmas and much of next year.
– The seller must lower the price expectations. There is less competition for homes when there are more homes available. We expect the price drop to be a bit stronger. And with forecasts that prices will now drop as interest rates rise, expectations need to be further adjusted as well.
“genuine dragon leather plates”
In a three-bedroom apartment in Bjølsen, sellers tried to get buyers to remember the ad, among other things, by stamping the text below the ad images.
“The kitchen wall is decorated with genuine dragon skin panels made from a Norwegian comb crest. The abdominal scales are wide and form transverse plates that are lined up under the body.
Real estate agent for sale, Silje Muri, says the market is now more difficult for home sellers.
– It varies how stressed you are and what expectations you have, but with some sellers the stress level is significantly higher than it might be in another market, says Muri.
Muri says regardless of the market, it’s important to make the ad stand out. The real estate agent says home buyers are now more discerning than before.
– It’s a tough competition. Standing out and being remembered is all the more important on the market now than it would have been six months ago.
Housing Expert: This is the biggest challenge for sellers now
Nejra Macic is chief economist of the Prognosesenteret. Like Lauridsen in Eiendom Norge, she isn’t sure if the eye-catching elements in advertising have anything to do with sales opportunities.
– I think most people look beyond these things and focus on the most important features of a home when buying.
You have to accept that the market has moved very abruptly from a seller’s market to a buyer’s market, he says.
– The biggest challenge for anyone selling their home now is dealing with buyers who expect to get a deal. You probably have to agree to sell for a slightly lower price than if you sold, for example, in August, but you can also buy the next house for a lower price.
If you shop your way into the market and the price of your next home drops more than yours, it can be profitable to trade homes in a falling market, Macic believes.
