Everyone has an opinion, and some people feel compelled to speak out. Here are just a few comments prompted by daily news broken on www.rebonline.com.au over the last month.
On 'Agents ignore prospective buyers at their peril'....
ALEX GLEN-HOLMES
Sourced from rebonline.com.au
As an agent, I believe in delivering the best service to my vendors. I achieve this by also providing an exceptional service to my purchasers. I treat both openly and honestly, providing follow up and communication on both sides. When the purchaser asks what price will be accepted, I state that I do know they will accept the asking price but also ask at what price they would be prepared to purchase the property.
Too many agents these days are trying to be too clever and tricky, and as a result both purchasers and vendors lose faith and trust in them. By being open and honest, and providing great service, you are more likely to keep everyone happy and ensure more repeat and referral business.
At the end of the day, we are in the customer service business. No customer service usually results in no sales or listings.
DAMIAN COLLINS
Sourced from rebonline.com.au
You can’t serve two masters. Selling agents are there to represent the seller. If I’m selling I want my agent looking after me – not the buyer!
Yes, they can be polite and friendly of course but they must work for the person paying them. This is why buyers’ agents are becoming more popular.
On ‘Victorian agent introduces bidder registration’...
DARYL FLAHERTY
Director
Brooke Stone Real Estate, Joondalup, WA
I think that you could find that LJ Hooker in the eastern states introduced bidder pre- registration some years ago and Hookers in South Australia use it to assist the auctioneer in knowing where the bids are likely to come from.
To further assist and to control the auction they have the pre-registered bidders seated in reserved seats.
Pre-registration has been happening at in-house auctions in Perth previously – so I think the claim to be a first has ‘missed the boat.’
On ‘Agency shopfronts are important: industry leaders’...
GERRIE BOWDEN
Principal
Moreton Bay Regional Real Estate, QLD
Success, I believe, depends largely on the location of the office and having agents work the window.
We use our shopfront not only to display our listings but as a way of communicating to the public that walk past our office. I always have property booklets, newsletters and local information available to them.
At close of business, I leave six booklets out (REIQ’s Brisbane North Realtor with our own property booklet inside) and most mornings they are all gone. At night we have quite a few people looking at our window listing displays and these people take away what they wish and often phone us afterwards.
During the day, if someone is out at the window we make some excuse to talk to them. If they are looking and are serious buyers we organise to take them to see a property on the spot. Walk in traffic is probably equal to realestate.com.au enquiries at the moment.
Our shopfront is our means of keeping in touch with our community as well as other local businesses in the area. Most of our business comes from having a shopfront. I have had other agents try the virtual office front and the only way they could make it a go is by cutting their commission. Any contact we make at the window is a huge plus for both our sales and property management departments.
I really feel that I have the edge over my competitors in the area when it comes to marketing, and it is all thanks to having a shopfront. Any agent who says there is no need for a shopfront has their head buried in the sand. Go Gecko started up as a home business internet franchise but has now expanded into shopfronts. Also, do you remember home sales online? They are now gone.
TERRY BENJAMIN
Director
Covecrest, Wavell Heights, QLD
I’m writing to you about the inability of an agent to assist in the pricing of a property listed for auction.
Agents in Queensland are unable by law to give any indication of pricing if a property is advertised for auction. So, when you see auctions listed in newspapers, or when you ring an agent about an auction as a prospective buyer, you can get no indication of whether the property will be within your estimated price range.
This is particularly frustrating if you see a property in another suburb you may not have researched and rather than waste time, you ring the agent for some guidelines.
Please campaign to remove this stupid restriction as contained in Section 574 of the Queensland Property Agents & Motor Dealers Act as it’s detrimental to the information available to the buying public.
Once a potential buyer obtains the price indication, they can then do their own research to determine whether the property may be of interest.
I am very aware of all the misquoting that can go on by both agents and vendors, particularly after having been in the business as an agent and investor for over 40 years, but there is one way to stop the shenanigans once and for all at auction.
Bidder registration in Queensland has done away with so called ‘dummy bidding’ (which was really the auctioneer bidding undisclosed on behalf of the vendor up to a price where the property would be ‘put on the market’).
The ‘put on the market’ price is really the reserve price that the vendor is prepared to sell at. If this is so, compel the vendor to disclose as part of the auction promotion the ‘reserve price’, or what used to be called ‘the upset price’. That is the price that, if there is only one bid at the quoted reserve price, the vendor will sign a contract.
This means that the agent at the time of listing the property for sale by auction is able to declare to any prospective buyer what the reserve price is.
If there is little interest, the vendor may accept an offer of that price prior to the auction. If there is considerable interest in the property, the buyer may have to wait for the auction to take place.
Why do we need to complicate the process of selling property when it can be simpler, and we can actually assist the players involved in the process – the buyers and sellers?
On ‘Agents in the dark over commissions’...
PETER MOSS
Proprietor/principal
Elders Real Estate Yeppoon, QLD
I am a member of the REIQ and do not and never have supported commission deregulation, nor did our Rockhampton branch when the last vote was held.
The fact is, when deregulation occurs the poor pay higher rates than the rich, so how is that sensible?
I would like to know how many extra staff it will require to police the scheme in the manner that Mr Lucas proposed.
The southern states were a mess and they would go back to a regulated system at the drop of a hat.
This is according to many I’ve spoken to at national conferences.
Just tell me the last time something was deregulated and didn’t seriously affect the people in that industry.
