- By Andrew Sirianni
, Attain Business Brokers
This post was reproduced from Attain Business Brokers' Blog:
The writer describes a situation in which she and her husband were keen to sell a 2 bedroom apartment in Manly, with bay views, for a price of $690,000. At the outcome of the article, she indicates that the property was sold within 4 weeks and for the price of $690,000 - the price that they had set as their goal. (The article is available at: http://www.theage.com.au/money/how-i-saved-17000-selling-my-own-home-20120623-20uu9.html)
The premise of the article is that: "Selling your property can be one of the most stressful - and expensive - times in your life. But, as I discovered, the whole experience can actually be straightforward and net you huge savings." But in reading the article, I question whether or not they really DID sell the property without the input/advice from a real estate agent.
The couple identified that they were only able to set their price after approaching real estate agents in the area. A number of those agents provided appraisals of the property as well as advice to assist them in understanding the market conditions. Without this input and advice, the vendors would not have been able to set their expectations from the sale.
In addition, the writer indicated that "we had someone to call on for real estate sales advice: my mother, who with more than 20 years' real estate experience, agreed to carry out the open-house inspections, negotiate the sale and assist with the solicitor, without charging us a cent of commission". Effectively, the writer had a number of real estate agents provide an assessment of the property to determine its likely sale price; then used the services of a real estate agent (albeit pro bono) to conduct the sale. So did they really SAVE $17,000 or were they GIFTED the commission? I fail to see how this couple did not work with real estate agents to complete the sale.
The writer also indicates that she spent a significant amount of her time preparing the property for sale, preparing the marketing and photography and negotiating rates for advertising. If she had done this through an agent, she would have received discounted rates on advertising (as agents generally receive rebates based on levels of usage) as well as saving her the time it took to complete all these tasks - time that could have been better spent on other activities.
The writer also indicates that in negotiating and finalising the sale: "I'd highly recommend the assistance of a third party for these tasks as it allows you to keep your emotions in check and removes some of the hassle" - to me, testimony enough to use an agent.
On the data for the past 12 months, median prices for Units in Manly are selling for $680,000 with 16,628 units sold in the past 12 months - a very fluid and active market. With bay views, I would have expected the Manly property in this article to outperform the Median prices. My question would be how much this couple lost by not working with someone with local experience in the market that was incentivised to get the best outcome for them.
At the end of the day, business professionals exist to provide advice that yields returns greater than the cost of their services. If you have a legal issue; you speak to a solicitor for a solution. To manage your tax affairs, you speak to an accountant. To manage your health, you speak to a doctor, pharmacist or associated physician. These professionals are trained to provide analysis, advice and guidance through their areas of expertise. Agents are the same.
A competent agent, with experience in your area/industry is well-versed in real estate transactions and can help you achieve the best outcome in your sale. The focus for the vendor should be on the resultant price - the sale price less the commission and associated costs - and more often than not, this will be higher when using an experienced agent.
To continue reading this blog post, visit:
Vendors Representing Themselves
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