Kalkan Turkey Forum - EnjoyKalkan.com
The Owners Lounge => Buying A Property & Real Estate => Topic started by: Wendy on October 22, 2012, 10:04:34 PM
-
I don't know who else here is selling their property but have you noticed that resale properties get devalued purely because they are 'not new?'
I know 'most' estate agents will earn more from a new build but the difference is very noticeable between a new build with all the snagging and first winter problems, to say nothing of the cost of furnishing and time costs waiting in for tradesmen etc.
How many current agents have actually any real qualifications in valuation? There seems to be a lot of word of mouth and guesswork involved.
For once this is not meant to be inflammatory but I am curious as to your views! Neither is it meant to denigrate any of the many good people around.
-
I've always felt that selling a resale property is equivalent to selling a second hand car. You are absolutely right, there is no sensible valuation in the first place.
-
Maybe it's just that there is a premium on new builds?
-
In our experience of when our property was up for sale, resale vendors have to be very realistic of what they are prepared to sell their property for.
A lot of the agents 'seem' to only push new properties so resale property owners have to be even more competitive to compete with new properties or they simply won't sell. Whilst I agree with what you are saying about the inconvenience of snagging, time waiting in for tradesmen and furnishing you home, your new buyer won't care about any of those things and will just want the best property for them at the best price for them and the may not even want some of your furniture and will have to factor in buying new furniture themselves.
We didn't sell our place in the end because we were trying to uplift the price from what we originally paid to cover furniture, inflation etc and didn't have ANY viewings in a year. However, I have now changed my opinion on this and if we decide to sell in the future, we will take into account the number of holidays we have had in it and the income we have received from it and we will probably be happy to sell at what we paid for it, because in reality that is still good value because apart from flights, we have had 'free' holidays for 5 years.
Best wishes for selling your villa - I have had a peek and it does look lovely. :)
-
Yes: resale valuations are difficult. But I suppose that, as with property in the UK, ultimately the "market value" is what someone is prepared to pay for the property!
Our issue is slightly different: we will shortly be putting our property on the market but, because it's a traditional Turkish stone house, there isn't much already on the market to compare it with (only really one other property we've been able to find). I guess it comes down to whether there will be a buyer out there who wants that sort of property in the old town, rather than a new-build (or resale) villa with pool etc.
-
Interesting to note that I am not alone in my thoughts! I have had a look and I believe we offer value for money and hope that our buyer finds us soon. I want a bigge replace in the uk with a photography studio.
-
Please let us know if you have any luck in selling your property Wendy as i would be very interested if you could pm me the estate agent you use or will you be selling it yourselves.Tried to put ours on the market this year but the estate agents dont want to know unless it's new.I doubt very much that any of us will get near the price we want, even the same price we paid for it.Imho i think most will sell at a loss.
-
I have sent you a PM !
-
Valuation is what a buyer will pay. Our villa was evaluated 3 summers ago by an English professional valuation expert who happened to be a renter that summer. But the Kalkan market doesn't seem to agree with his valuation so how meaningful is it? The market is the only true valuation.
Most of the estate agents started with zero experience and time has produced few true professionals. On the other hand, the international RE market is dead, the market for now in Kalkan is ONLY for new, minimalist villas (open plan) and cheap apartments. If Arab or Russian clients start to buy here, the type of villa requested may change.
What many prospective buyers perhaps do not realize about cement and glass open plan villas is that they are much cheaper to build than villas with a lot of artisanal handwork, i.e., craftsmanship. Profit margin on new minimalist villas is 70-100%. But these villas are more expensive to operate since the use of vast amounts of glass in a sunny country means astronomical AC bills in summer. One woman told me that in July and August her electric bill runs around £250 PER WEEK! Traditional buildings in hot countries always have smaller or very small windows -- it's not for no reason. The fashion of minimalism will pass like all others, then that style of villa will become difficult to sell as well.
Buying new also means incurring snagging, redoing, furnishing and set-up costs which an established villa doesn't have.
Most prospective buyers do not know what their running costs will be, i.e., property management. In most cases, villa owners would fare better to hire and share a year-round employee who works 40 hours/week between 2 properties (20 hrs weekly each villa) rather than to employ a management company. They would pay less than the cost of most property management companies whose employees *may* visit a property twice weekly just to check on it and who at most even in summer may spend 7 hours/week at their property. We share our employee with 2 other friends' villas, it comes to a very reasonable amount for good work including many small repairs, general maintenance, gardening, guest greeting, errands, translation, admin matters and all things necessary to keep a villa running smoothly.
If you are able to rent your property, it is probably worthwhile keeping it for another 5 years until the world economy and the fashion changes.
-
I'm not an owner so I am not speaking of the specifics of the Kalkan market, but new builds always command a premium no matter where they are. In an area of high growth (i.e. lots of new development) even more so because buyers are seduced by the idea of 'making it their own', 'stamping their own mark on it', and being the first people on the planet to sully its wonderfulness. No, I don't get that whole thing either.... BUT it is a fact of life and unfortunately if you buy a place in Kalkan in the first flush of true love and that place is a new build then a bit like buying a brand new car it will devalue - hugely - the minute you drive it out of the showroom. Or inflict your taste in interior decoration on it. Fact. If, as with Kalkan, there is a massive glut of property and deals to be done on new builds (and let's not pretend there aren't in spite of Kalkan's preceived resistance to property market forces) then that is going to mean established properties are going to be worth less than their owners might have hoped. Everything has a market and any property will sell, but the price has to be attractive enough to even entice people to view in the first place let alone offer. I think a lot of Kalkan property buyers are sitting on a big loss, but that is only important if you actually need to sell. If you don't then don't sweat it - your home is just as lovely as it ever was and Kalkan is no less attractive even if you don't personally want to spend as much time there as you once did.
-
Interesting and valid comments from everyone and I thank you all. We will continue along the path of selling it ourselves and let you know what happens! ;D