So says Dr Willie Marais, president of the Institute of Estate Agents (IEASA), who notes that negotiating skills are among the most important services that estate agents have to offer their clients. “These skills are often undervalued until the agent rescues a deal that was about to fall through, but for the professional agent their usefulness actually begins at the listing presentation.”

It can be unnerving, he says, when home sellers suddenly lay their cards on the table and you find that they want an unreasonably high price for their home. “And if you are an agent who believes your job is to get the mandate, you will no doubt give in and set the asking price at this level, thinking that when the home fails to sell you will be able to go back to the sellers and convince them to drop the price.”

However, that is the wrong approach, says Marais. “Overpricing is for amateurs, and amateurs hurt their own and the industry's reputation, as we have seen over the past couple of years. Buyers become extremely wary of all pricing and when overpriced properties stick in the market, the sellers start labelling agents in general as unprofessional.”

Consequently, agents need to remember at all times that their real job is to get the property sold – and that a true market evaluation and pricing, which will most probably have to be negotiated with the seller, is what will attract a buyer as quickly as possible at the highest price possible.

A good strategy for dealing with sellers whose expectations are too high, Marais says, is to find out why they want such a high price, and explain to them what they will have to do to get it. Is their objective to move to a more expensive home? Are they trying to pay off debt? Are they trying to boost their retirement savings?

“And if they insist on a high price, are they willing to wait many months for the right buyer? Can they afford two bond repayments if they move before their home sells? Are they willing to bear the cost of upgrading their home so it will sell at a higher price?”

Meanwhile, he says, agents should arm themselves with as much information about the “competition” as possible. “Then when your client mentions the house down the road that just sold for a high price, you will be able to respond with details that enabled it to command such a price – like a completely renovated kitchen, perhaps, and ask if your clients would be prepared to make the same kind of investment.

“This illustrates once again that knowledge is power - and power is what you will need if you are not going to waste both your and your client’s time and money. Besides, if you can’t negotiate with your client at the beginning of the transaction, what real chance have you got of negotiating with a buyer to secure a good outcome?”