Recent figures put out by Australian Property Monitors show that the average property for sale in Sydney is now sitting on the market for 84 days, as opposed to the heady days of the peak in 2002 when the no was a mere 35 days. In March this year it peaked at 90 days, so I suppose the figure has at least fallen. APM's research director, Louis Christopher, believes the reason is because vendors are still not being realistic and agents are not pricing correctly. Examples abound with vendors dropping hundreds of thousands to meet the market and auctions dismally attracting miserable bids whilst the owners wring their hands in despair. Interesting times. According to a mixture of professionals made up of Christopher and prominent Sydney REA's, the following tips may ensure your property sells faster in a market such as the one we are experiencing: 1. Get an independent valuation before a REA opinion to assess what the property is currently worth 2. Invest in high quality photos from whichever REA you use, which show off the best attributes of your property to attract maximum purchasers 3. Take the property off the market for a while to avoid it becoming stale and seen too much by buyers. A break can also be beneficial in that a new agency will take pics from different angles and the same property can be unrecognisable second time around 4. Be patient and keep in mind average time on market is now 84 days 5. Change agents to find someone who truly believes in your property and its qualities 6. Listen to constructive feedback from buyers
“….the following tips may ensure your property sells faster in a market such as the one we are experiencing “. Jacque, To add a few more from different source. - The maximum time for a selling agreement should be SEVEN weeks. If home is not sold in this time, hire another agent. A short term agreement gives you control. - You need a guarantee that if agent sells your home below the lowest price you are quoted, you will not have to pay any commission. - Do not fall for the tricks that a lower price attracts more buyers.It attracts buyers at a lower price and lower the value of your home. - Conditioning is the classical symptom when the agent praises your home you sign up and then, as soon as you sign, the agent focuses on the faults of your home. In this case you must have the right to immediately dismiss the agent. The Real Estate Institute of NSW even had a course called “ How to Condition Sellers “. - Before you sign anything make sure you have a guarantee that you can dismiss the agent if the agent does anything unethical, dishonest or illegal. - Advertising can turn your home into a lemon. Your home should only be brought to the attention of buyers who can buy it.A competent agent keeps accurate records of buyers and know how to find the right buyer without damaging the value of your home. - Advertising is another trap for unwary. Sellers do not realise that advertising does NOT seel their homes, or that one of the main reasons for advertising is to promote agents, not homes. Agents can earn thousands of dollars from kickbacks, and advertising is one of the agent’s best conditioning weapons to convince sellers to lower their price. But worse of all, few sellers realise how advertising damage the value of their homes including open inspection. Often 80% of local newspapers can be taken up with real estate advertising, and yet usually less than two per cent of readers are looking to buy homes. Something doesn’t add up. In 1982 one overseas study showed that less than one home per five hundred is sold because of an agent’s advertisement for the house. For agents advertising is another tool they use to promote their real estate agencies at the expense of the sellers. Many newspapers sponsor real estate awards for agents. The awards focus on the amount of money spent on advertising. - If you catch the agent revealing your personal details to buyers – such as agent may tell buyers that you have bought another home so you are desperate to sell you must have a right to dismiss the agent. - If the buyer of your home is the agent or a close relative or associate of the agent, you should not pay any commission. - Make a condition that any kickbacks are paid back to you. - If your circumstances change and you decide not to sell, then you should be able to withdraw your home from sale with no charge or obligation from the agent. - Before you sell your home – you should prepare your own list of conditions and make sure the agent signs your conditions before you sign anything with the agent.
One of those sources sounds very much like Jenman, if I'm on track And as far as kickbacks and commissions go, the real estate industry in NSW is a lot better regulated than it was pre 2003 with appropriate forms now required to be signed for all disclosures. Not that I am naive enough to believe that illegal practices don't still occur, but REA's put themselves at far greater risk when they fall foul of the Trade Practices Act and Dept of Fair Trading Rules of Conduct these days. The penalties are quite stiff hence their high insurance premiums
" One of those sources sounds very much like Jenman, if I'm on track " Jacque, Correct. He knows what he is taking about. " ....... the real estate industry in NSW is a lot better regulated than it was pre 2003 with appropriate forms now required to be signed for all disclosures." What about the other states ?. Still .... I think it's a long way to go in this industry !!
I agree with you, in that I believe too that the industry suffers from a lack of transparency and still is rife with far too much dishonesty and deceptive practices. However, I believe that these changes are part of a series of industry reforms that should make it easier for good practices to eventually prevail and become the norm.
I understand after meeting a few bottom-feeders in the property game, some industry identities have reasonable grounds (and perhaps other motivation?) for listing some cautionary rights. However, like everything in business, its caveat emptor (or in this case whatever the latin is for 'seller beware' ) and you should only enter into contracts with people you respect, for whatever reason (sales performance, personality, experience, financial advantage, benefits offered etc.) One of the points was : "Before you sign anything make sure you have a guarantee that you can dismiss the agent if the agent does anything unethical, dishonest or illegal". If one of my clients said to me as a private business person "I need you to guarantee I can dismiss you if you do anything unethical, dishonest or illegal" I would say "Don't catch your fat paranoid a**e in the revolving door on your way out, idiot, and good luck finding a business who is happy to listen to your implication they might be unethical, liars or crooks, while forming a business relationship for your own potential gain". If I laid down a similar rule to a self-respecting real estate agent I would fully expect the same response. I think it is reasonable to ASSUME people won't do anything unethical, dishonest and illegal, regardless of the industry they work in, but those terms are so vague anyway, they seem to me to be insulting. They certainly don't sound like something that would positively contribute to 'reforms' anyway. Just my 2 cents. Cheers Carl
One of the points was : "Before you sign anything make sure you have a guarantee that you can dismiss the agent if the agent does anything unethical, dishonest or illegal". I think it is reasonable to ASSUME people won't do anything unethical, dishonest and illegal, regardless of the industry they work in, but those terms are so vague anyway, they seem to me to be insulting. They certainly don't sound like something that would positively contribute to 'reforms' anyway. TryHard, Let me tell you my brief story.. Some time ago ( 18 years ago ) I was selling my house. At that time I ASSUMED ( as you said ) that the agent which I hired is ethical and honest. After 6 months down the track I found out that *%(&^%)(*% agent is trying to sell my house to the couple who was on the " black " list - so this people could not get loan from any bank and when his business went broke I had debt collectors on my back. So ... I found another agent....and still beliving in honesty .... I said to her that if she sell my house I will sign contract with her. Guess what .... She sold my house in less than 3 days for even better price.... This case makes me wonder.... Was she an honest agent or I just forced her to do her job properly by not signing cotract before she sold my house ( she was fully informed about story with the previous agent ).
Legal rights versus inflammatory remarks Hi Tropo I hear ya brother. I'm not sticking up for the bottom-feeders out there. I have met some real estate agents who defy description. I won't even start on some of the things they 'tried' to do Mind you, I've also met some lawyers, doctors, ex-judges, politicians, senior public servants, accountants, CEO's etc who were just as bad. (and I'm not knocking these professions, just making the point that there are dodgy operators in all professions, just not tarred with the same brush as car and real estate salespeople - by the way I run a web programming business and there are plenty of "Dodgy Bros." web firms too) My point was the kind of inflamatory remark ("make sure you have a guarantee that you can dismiss the agent if the agent does anything unethical, dishonest or illegal.") is made to a reasonable and ethical person, you'd likely lose all chance of that person wanting to work for you. Even if they did take on your property, what motivation do they have to provide you the best possible sale price if you speak to them as if they (might be) dirt ? But yeah, I know the saying is "never assume" and I probably used the word badly. I don't think any legally binding agreement should be based on any assumptions. But I also don't think you should enter into a business relationship with someone who you feel might be the "lowest common denominator" in any industry. Cheers Carl
