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The 2020 real estate world is not kind to home buyers. Gone are the days when buyers – be they family home buyers or investors – could sit in an agent’s office, drinking coffee and discussing their needs. Nowadays, it’s hard for buyers to even get their calls returned…
Years ago, we fell victim to a simple scam. A fake email was sent to our accounts department asking for an invoice to be paid. Our accounts manager obediently transferred the requested sum: ten thousand dollars.
The word ‘mortgage’ is French in origin. It means “an agreement until death”. In January 2020, the number of Australians suffering mortgage stress was around 1.1 million – and that was considered bad. Since COVID-19 mortgage stress numbers have exploded. There are now 1.4 million people suffering…
The easiest way to sell any property is to drop its price. In most cases, however, owners should drop their agent not their price. Agents always say the reason a home can’t be sold is because its price is too high. Nonsense. The truth is more likely because the agent’s effort is too low…
There are 195 countries in the world. Yet Australia and New Zealand are the only countries where agents expect home sellers to pay for advertising costs. In all the other 193 countries, real estate agents pay advertising costs. And before local agents say foreign agents earn more commission, they don’t. In most countries, sellers pay less commission than in Australia. Plus, in other countries agents pay all advertising costs – as they should in most cases in Australia.
Aside from the pandemic, I believe something else is hurting home sellers today. I’d like to tell you about it.Home sellers, you are being told that prices are crashing, and the property market is falling off a cliff – and you are going with it. Really?Where is all this bad stuff coming from? No rays of hope?Well, if you are selling now – or soon – let’s see if we can give you a bit of positivity. Just for a change…
Below is a statement sent by a real estate office, Hampton Peters Real Estate, in Burnie on Friday April 3, 2020, to its many ‘landlords’ and tenants.
Of course, nothing in this statement from one agent to its clientele is directly applicable to all agents and their clients. However, given that so many people in the rental market are worried about their circumstances in these most abnormal times, we hope this statement will relieve some stress in some people…
This happens all the time in real estate…Buyers make an offer on a home. They tell the agent they “won’t pay any more”.The agent contacts the sellers and urges them to accept the offer. The agent may say: “If you don’t take this offer, you’ll lose these buyers.”…
In February, Lana and Ian, a retired couple, decided to sell their home. An agent said auction would get the best price.
[WARNING: Only dishonest or incompetent agents say “auctions get the best price”].
Lana and Ian are inexperienced. Like most sellers, they are at the mercy of agents. It’s a lucky-dip if sellers get a good agent or a bad agent these days because most agents look the same and speak the same…
A common mistake of agents – and the reason they often fail to get the best price for a home – is this: They focus too much on price. Most agents are prejudiced about price. They are obsessed with how much sellers want for their homes. Sellers, here’s a hint: Never reveal your lowest price, otherwise it will be the highest you ever get. Buyers – especially family home buyers – rarely consider money as the main motive for buying a home. Yes, money may limit the amount buyers pay, but the main reason home buyers buy is because they love a home. Agents, however, rarely get this important selling point.
