One of our team members called me this week chasing some advice on a property and a client he was working with.
He was hoping to list their home for sale but he had hit a hurdle. They’d met another agent at an open home and that agent had presented them with an ‘appraisal price’ that was completely over the top and a commission that seemed too good to be true. I’m sure you can see where this is headed. Appointing the right real estate agent can be hard. Especially if you don’t have a prior relationship.
But the two most attractive numbers to most owners, ‘appraised’ price and commission, are also the two worst numbers to choose an agent on. Any agent can just throw a huge price on the table and justify it with enthusiasm, but where are the facts? Commission is only paid when a property is sold and settled, so choosing the cheapest sounds counter intuitive too. You want to choose the agent who will get you the best price, not the agent with the lowest fee.
Ask questions about strategy, recent sales with buyers still looking, what their service program looks like and can they give you some past clients to talk too. We are talking about our biggest assets. Choosing the right person/ office to sell it is paramount to the result. Most people chose their agent on ‘likeability’ and that’s great, but the reality is that the longer a property sits on the market, more often the lower price they achieve. So you need to look a little further than skin deep.
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The Victorian government has proposed new laws that would require sellers and agents to publish their reserve price seven days before an auction. These proposals haven’t passed parliament yet, but if they do, they will certainly throw a cat among the pigeons. Victoria wants change because they receive thousands of … Read more