For property practitioners, few conversations are as sensitive, or as crucial, as the one about price. Get it right, and you can spark immediate interest, attract serious offers, and help move a property quickly. But agreeing on that number isn’t always easy, especially when clients come to the table with strong opinions of their own.
Seller practitioners often face homeowners who are emotionally tied to their properties or swayed by stories of sky-high sales from a friend-of-a-friend. On the flip side, buyer practitioners deal with clients convinced they can score a bargain, no matter what the market suggests. This gap between perception and reality has become more visible in recent months, as viral videos on social media show everyday people reacting with disbelief to current property prices.
In April, TikTokker Jessica (@metastable95) hit a nerve with a video that opened with “What I assumed million rand houses looked like when I was 13”. Set to Earth, Wind & Fire’s September, it kicked off with a slideshow of sleek, luxurious homes — the kind you’d expect in glossy magazines or aspirational Pinterest boards. But then the music abruptly warps, and so does the dream. She cuts to images of actual million-rand homes posted recently, showcasing older finishes, lived-in interiors, visible wear and tear, unkempt gardens, and driveways needing some attention. “The housing market really makes ZERO sense. Our expectations were way too high,” she lamented to over 340,000 views.
That same month, Instagrammer Mohale Leloka (@_mohale_leloka_) shared his disbelief at a two-bedroom Pretoria home listed for R550,000. “Where is the garage?” he asked, deadpan, as he showed footage of a modest structure with weathered paintwork, an unpaved yard, and simple fencing. “I would rather live in my car,” agreed a commenter, one of thousands, as the post racked up over 33,000 likes.
While these viral videos tap into genuine frustration and humour around property pricing, those working within the market say there is a clear mismatch between expectations and actual market conditions.
Aaron Grant Ruiter, Group Operations and Technology Manager at Harcourts Rhino, believes flashy, high-end listings dominate social media, and that can give people the wrong idea about what they can actually afford.
“Social media platforms like TikTok tend to showcase idealised properties, highlighting luxurious homes or successful flipping projects without delving into the financial complexities or market realities behind them,” he says.
Above this, he says that many people lack a clear understanding of broader economic factors. “Rising interest rates and inflation, for example, directly affect property affordability and market values. Misleading anecdotes from friends, family, or outdated online information also contribute to perceptions that don't align with current market conditions.
“There's also a common assumption among buyers that sellers are always open to negotiating significantly lower prices, which leads to unrealistic initial offers,” he shares.
For Gregory Van Wijk, Owner of Just Property Summit, the issue is often most visible among first-time buyers, many of whom enter the market with expectations that don’t match their budget or buying power.
“Many first-time buyers misunderstand how property values grow over time and the benefits of building equity through ownership. They often overlook the value of starting small, upgrading gradually, or renting while saving,” he says.
“A home is a long-term investment, so higher costs reflect future gains. Social media fuels instant gratification, making buyers expect dream homes from the start. Many also confuse rental value with market value, assuming what they like should match what it’s worth. This disconnect creates unrealistic expectations in today’s market,” he adds.
Rather than referencing market data, buyers also often rely on what ‘feels fair’ to them. “They cannot necessarily be expected to have any knowledge of the property values for similar properties and are often therefore guided either by what they paid, plus what they had spent on their property and what they assume to be a fair capital appreciation factor,” says Trish Kennedy, Principal/Owner of Zest Property Group.
“More often, they are guided by what they need to ‘get out’ either so that they can buy their next property or because they need that amount of capital," she adds.
Property pricing reality check is needed
According to a Prop Data poll, over 86% of property practitioners say they have to correct a buyer’s property pricing expectations “often” to “almost all the time”. With so many buyers entering the market with price points based on gut feel, social media, or second-hand stories, property practitioners are finding themselves doing a lot of expectation management. And to do it well, they’ll need every tool at their disposal.
Top of the list? A solid Comparative Market Analysis (CMA), ideally backed by trusted data. Valuation reports from providers like Lightstone, a leader in data-driven insights and online property market intelligence, for example, can go a long way in showing buyers and sellers what properties are actually worth. Because when the facts are clear, the pricing conversation gets a whole lot easier.