Sunday, January 26, 2014

Selling Your Apartment

When reading a recent story in The Times (from London) titled "How to avoid house-sale hell", about a lady who went through a series of real estate agents, and taking 18 months to sell her London house in a rising market, it reminded me of many stories I have heard about bad real estate agents in Brisbane.

Some common complaints about Brisbane agents:
  • Not returning phone calls and emails.  (This always amazes me.  As as cash buyer, I often have trouble having agents return my emails when I am wanting to buy an apartment that they have listed for sale.)
  • Pushing expensive advertising packages on the seller.
  • Pushing auction sales on the seller.  For most properties, an auction is the less desirable way for the seller to sell a property, often leading to higher sales costs and a lower sales price.
  • Using a "front man" who sells the agency's services, but who is never seen again.  Young inexperienced sales agents then do the open house and deal with the buyers and sellers.
  • Having an agent give a misleading impression as to how long it will take to sell the property.
  • Listing the property at too high a price.
  • Conditioning the seller, with unreasonably low (and sometimes fake) initial offers.
Many sellers are often surprised at how few people come to inspect, and that those who do are often completely disinterested.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

In my limited experience the 'young' Brisbane agents while being less experienced with face to face sales are often more competent with off-the-plan sales & marketing techniques. I guess that's a bonus of growing up with the internet.