Ludwig Mies, one of the founders of modernist architecture, helped popularise the notion “less is more”, and that’s wisdom prospective property sellers and landlords would be well advised to heed. All too commonly, owners believe the greater the number of agents or platforms with which their property is listed, the quicker and easier it will be to make a deal, but actually the opposite is true and here’s why:

Property Management

You spent time making sure you bought the correct property! Yes? Make sure you spend time choosing the correct Property Manager. Abode Management offer full end to end service using state of the art technology, which simplifies our job and save us costs. We pass these savings to you. our service includes the full Property Management Cycle which means we take care of everything so you can relax and enjoy the benefits. Find out more…

 The “unsellable” stigma

What do you think when you see the same home advertised almost everywhere you look for months on end? That it’s a must-view property? Or that there’s probably something wrong with it? A prolonged and visible lack of interest is seen as a warning sign by many would-be buyers, especially if it’s evident the seller or landlord has reduced the price one or more times. Scarcity is desirable, ubiquity the opposite.

Agent Motivation

An agent who knows an owner and has given them an exclusive listing is more likely to work harder to sell or rent that property. You may think advertising with multiple agents creates competition and so will spur them to fight to find a buyer the fastest, but that isn’t the reality – more likely, is that they’ll question whether it’s worth putting in the time and effort when they might be pipped by a rival and end up with no commission at all.

Click-bait

If a property is registered with multiple agents it’s much tougher to stop additional, unscrupulous brokers from copying the advert and including it among their own listings without the owner’s consent. Unsanctioned adverts typically offer a price far below the market value, luring in unsuspecting customers who are then told the property has been sold and are instead shown others on the dodgy agent’s books.

Verified Listings

Clickbait property adverts were one of the reasons Abode Property decided to only work with Verified Listing service, which prioritises properties for which we’ve seen documentation proving the advert is accurate and the broker has permission to promote it. Verified Listings, earn extra ranking points on portals and are rotated on our homepage. During April 2017, a verified listing received almost two times the amount of enquiries, on average, when compared to a non-verified listing.

An Illusion of Oversupply

When properties are listed multiple times, it makes it appear there are substantially more units for sale than is the case. Oversupply – and even just the perception of it – can drive selling prices lower, another reason to cut down on the clutter of duplicate adverts.

Stay Legal

Not only are multiple listings counter-productive, they may also be illegal – in Dubai, the real estate regulator allows prospective sellers to use a maximum of three agents simultaneously.

Choose Wisely

If you take our advice and opt to use a single real estate agent, then it’s even more important to choose the right one. With so many companies vying for your business that’s a difficult decision. Make sure you check the companies licensed documentation and the brokers are also licensed. Ask for a copy of all these docs. Click here

And finally, Trakheesi

Trakheesi is a Dubai government initiative to improve transparency in the emirate’s real estate sector. Now, real estate brokers must first be Trakheesi registered to place a property advert in the media, which includes specialist websites. Once approved, they then submit a copy of the unit’s title deed, a form confirming the owner agrees to the broker marketing the property, and a separate letter from the broker stating the type of property to be advertised. These rules apply to both sales and rentals, with brokers required to include permit numbers in their adverts. These welcome requirements are likely to hasten the move to one-agent-one-property listings.