Is there really a way to negotiate with real estate agents in Sydney?

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  tomleonhart on 28/05/2016 - 19:57

  +5

  The less they know about you the better. I'll leave it as that.

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    nickskewl on 28/05/2016 - 20:06

    They do fish though what's the budget? Have you got your finances or pre approval done? Are you existing owner or renter? There is another one for $x amount would you be interested? They sus out all the info and join the dots!!!

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      tomleonhart on 28/05/2016 - 20:19

      what's your problem with real estate agent exactly ?

      You don't have to answer any of their question if you dont want to.

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        nickskewl on 28/05/2016 - 20:24

        You give an offer in writing. Feedback then it's competitive. Half a day later when they would have shown others the offer in writing. Feedback sorry mate the others came and just blew it away!!

      • 

        tomleonhart on 28/05/2016 - 20:45

        +2

        @nickskewl: I don't really understand what you just wrote lol sorry.

      • 

        chumlee on 29/05/2016 - 08:17

        In todays overheated market competitive isn't good enough. You either pay way over or sit it out until the market cools, however long that takes

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        Sweetnsour on 30/05/2016 - 13:23

        +1

        @tomleonhart:
        He meant:
        You give an offer in writing. Feedback from agent initially is that it's competitive. Half a day later when they would have other offers in writing, it is not competitive anymore. Feedback is "sorry mate the others came and just blew it away!!"

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    CacheHunter on 29/05/2016 - 08:29

    I agree. They get commission based on how much you pay and earn a reputation as getting a better price, which brings in more business - its the vendor, not the buyer, that chooses the agent.

    also,remember that its not the agents job to get a fair price, but the best price for the vendor. If they think they can get even an extra $500 out of you, they're unlikely to recommend that a vendor accept your offer. if they know nothing about you they're more likely to believe you when you tell them that if the vendor wants even $1 more you'll walk away.

    If you're not an experienced negotiator, I would also seriously think about talking to a buyer's agent to bid/negotiate (do your own property search). On a $1m property, it's easy to save the couple of thousand that they charge. Last year I paid an agent to bid on 3 properties, all of which i lost, but at least it was because of my budget, not my negotiating strategy. I learned a lot from watching them and estimate that I subsequently saved about $40k when I represented myself. At the time, the $3k I paid to the buyers agent hurt because it was eating into my deposit and I didn't know how many hours it would take to be successful. However, looking back, it was $3k well spent. YMMV

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      nickskewl on 29/05/2016 - 10:41

      Yes I recently got introduced to the same I.e. Buyers agent. Researching on it and looks to be an option worth looking into.

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  captobvious on 28/05/2016 - 20:23

  +1

  depends on the area you want to purchase in as well. Unfortunately agents or most people in sales can be judgemental.
  The only ones that dont discriminate are tele marketers and nigeria

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    nickskewl on 28/05/2016 - 20:25

    Funny esp the last bit!!!

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  fruit on 28/05/2016 - 20:45

  Pay cash?

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  [Deactivated] on 28/05/2016 - 22:59

  Is there really any tips and tricks when looking for overheated Sydney property market to deal with the real estate agents?

  Try punching them in the face!

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  Davros on 28/05/2016 - 23:01

  If you really must have it buy it
  If you can live without it walk away

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  Charity on 29/05/2016 - 08:02

  Be less desperate.

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  Euphemistic on 29/05/2016 - 09:05

  +1

  the market has probably cooled a bit, but definitely get pre approved finance and avoid having to sell before you buy if you can. It can a make a difference to a buyer if they know you have money ready. I know someone whose higher offer was let go because the buyer preferred the shorter and guaranteed settlement of a lower offer that required sale of their home to go through first (only a couple of thousand over the other offer in $700k though).

  Last year we bought first with pre approval for the full new purchase, made life less stressful knowing that our finance didn't hinge on selling first, and that we could adjust our settlement to suit the vendor. Making an unconditional offer is more appealing to a vendor.

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  tonyjzx on 29/05/2016 - 10:13

  +1

  Their attitude reflects the desirability of the property they are selling and the appetites of their buyer.

  There is no negotiation if buyers are lined up and are preapproved.

  To me its pretty damn simple. What is the vendors selling price. What can you afford to pay. You should be willing to pay say $5,000 more to get the property.

  I assume you're looking at $750k pretty much. I dont know what there's so much mystery about it.

  The days of sneaking in with $1,000 over the asking is gone. If the property is hot enough then they buyers are there.

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  Pumpkin_rrr on 29/05/2016 - 11:26

  Agree with Euphenistic and Tonyjzx above.
  To your question "Is there really any tips and tricks … to deal with the real estate agents?" - May I say, please treat REA with respect, put yourself in their shoes: what type of prospective buyer would be appealing to them? Ask them upfront, what does the Buyer wants, and doesnt want. No matter what others think of REA, they do this everyday and they should know a thing or two which will be useful to you.

  Selling of property is a lengthy process, and nobody likes to waste time. My first property was in a Complex with Body Corp, I gave an unconditional offer: no finance no pest no nothing. Later I found out I was at least $5k short of the next person but I was chosen because of my sincerity (desperateness??). Both the Agent and the Buyer knew that I was fair dinkum, and my contract will not fold. I work closeby, my son's school is 500m away….

  My next property with another Agent, told me the Buyer had accepted one offer which took months to follow-thru, and then folded.

  Money is not everything, unless the difference runs into tens of thousands. To the Agent, if you apply 2.5% commission, an offer of $5k only gives them $125 more in commission. So we can accuse them for favouring the next person. I dont really appreciate the word "screw". Agent acts for Sellers, and all Sellers want the most money they can get. It is just economics, market conditions. If you think the property worth the money they are asking for, you just have to match it.

  Last piece of advice: forget Sydney, come to Sunny Brisbane :-))

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    tonyjzx on 31/05/2016 - 12:37

    It took me a while to get used to it. Say 10 yrs ago when it was quiet and the Chinese werent here (LOL! I kid. or maybe not)… the vendor would ask a price say $250k and depending on how hot the market was you could pay a little under and get away with it.

    Sometimes you lose… ie. I got outbid on a property, I bid $460 and I found out later it went for $465k (my dad is an agent so I asked him to call up).

    The property is now a million plus.

    Now in the scheme of things… what the hell is $5,000? its really nothing in the long run.

    Looking back I've been reasonably cavalier. I've pay a bit over asking more often than not. Only a few times have a paid less than asking.

    In my mind I paid close to $9,000 over market 5yrs ago on a property was in demand. I felt like an idiot because I felt that almost $10k left my pocket.

    Do I regret it? No. The property is now $650+… my price back then was well under half that.

    Sure I paid more back then but the price seems ridiculous lowly now in 2016.

    Buying property is not like ozbargain, it really isnt.

    And the hard reality is that the market is reasonably hot that you know people are paying $10, $20, $25k over asking. That's too rich for me but I'm not rich so…

    • 

      Pumpkin_rrr on 03/06/2016 - 08:14

      Well said. Play the games by their rules, not yours, and you still win.

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    fairland on 04/06/2016 - 22:08

    +1

    I agree with you, REA looking mostly for genuine buyers who will go all the way till the settlement. So when agent asking the buyer so many questions that's because agent wants to qualify you as buyer, wants to know what type of buyer are you as the agent will add you to their database (that's the agent treasure), and see if you have property for sale and get commission out of you as well.

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  Sweetnsour on 30/05/2016 - 22:38

  +1

  Depends on what you are purchasing and whether its in demand. Investment properties are slowing but family homes that are near good schools and public transport are still in high demand. Be realistic in your offer if its the one you want. Research what has sold recently around the area and use it as a guide to offer a reasonable amount. Remember that some properties there are 5-10 interested parties and that means 80-90% of buyers will miss out. It can be disheartening to miss out but move onto the next one before getting too attached.

  Best of luck

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  nickskewl on 01/06/2016 - 20:54

  Update: Went last weekend and made a fairly competitive offer in writing. [Competitive I say as $50k more than a home sold on the same street same style 5 months back]. Agents told me that they would get back to me on Monday. They didnt. On Tuesday I called them up. They said: They are yet collecting offers from the 10 other people that asked for contracts. To which I asked how many have given offer in writting and where does my stack up? Their reply: they havent got any other yet. I checked their website today and its listed for open house again for the weekend. Now you see where my frustration builds in.

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    Euphemistic on 01/06/2016 - 21:30

    Frustrating indeed. The agent must submit a written offer to the seller, and should then get a response to you promptly. If the property has not been on the market very long it is likely they will string it out a bit to get a better idea of how much others will offer and what the property is really worth. The seller might be hanging out for a higher offer and the agent might have already planned the next open house and the seller decided that getting more people through might elicit a better offer.

    While looking for our current house we inspected a newly listed property and liked it enough to make an offer. After considering the market and the amount of work required on the property (very dated finishes in very average condition) we made an offer of $780. We were advised there was a pending offer significantly higher, indicating high $800s. I spoke to the agent, we re-inspected and restated our offer went up by about $10k, still dismissive response. In the end we missed out and the house sold for about $835, which we would have happily paid if the entire place didn't need renovating. It appears the other people had lots more money and the sellers may have been a bit greedy.

    Month or two later we negotiated with a different agent on our current house, a very stressful few days as we negotiated our price up to one that was accepted, supposedly leapfrogging another party, but we have no way of knowing if the other party existed or not and the agent wouldn't (couldn't) disclose what the other offers were, only if we were in front or not. If the agent had been more open with us, or in an auction situation they could have got an extra $20k out of us. End of the day we got a better house fully renovated at a lower price than the previous one.

    Good luck with your purchase.

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      tonyjzx on 02/06/2016 - 16:08

      You're not paying enough. In the end, the agent serves the vendor, not you.

      You need to flat out ask, how much do I have to pay for the vendor to sell to me. Full Stop.

      Your logic is not sound. $50k over another house 5 months ago. The market is different from Christmas last year.

      I suspect the vendor is asking too much but I dont blame them, knowing what you and I should know, knowing how inflated the market is, they want that mythical Chinese buyer to pay cash out the butt and to pay way over market.

      If the vendor is in no rush, why the hell would they accept mediocre offers? I wouldnt. Would you?

      Eg. If I have a $750k property and I dream of say $850k etc. why would I take $800k when I can wait a week get more people in, get more offers.

      If I wait one week and get an offer at $825k then I've made $25,000 in a week.

      Would you do that? I would. It costs me nothing in the end.

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        Euphemistic on 02/06/2016 - 20:46

        Problem with agents that talk up the sale price too much to the vendor is that the vendor might receive a great offer first up, but hold out for more only to not be able to get it. Eg first offer at $800, not good enough, looking for closer to $850k. Wait, wait, wait. No more offers, house sits on the market too long and 'goes stale' and then you end up having to accept $780 becuase the house sat for too long so 'there must be something wrong with it'

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        tonyjzx on 02/06/2016 - 21:01

        Sure I dont think the above case isnt unusual however I would argue its over inflated. Why? Because whether buyer sells for $800 or $850, the agent is only getting 2.5% or 3.5% or whatever.

        The extra commission isnt worth it to the agent. Its better to sell the property, get your commission and move onto the next sucker.

        It revolves around how serious the vendor is to. If the vendor is in no rush then why accept an offer than is a mere $50k over what was the market rate last year?

        Vendors listen to the agent… if the agent says… let's try an open house and talk again next week and I'm not in a rush then why wouldnt I?

        They run on their own timeline, not the timeline of the buyer.

        In this case its crystal clear… they dont like your bid, they want to chance it over the weekend. Sounds pretty fair to me. They have heaps of other people who also paid $50k (or more) over last years price. They dont need your bid.

        btw. if there's two constants in this industry its vendors who ask too much and buyers who dont want to pay. With the internet these days its easy to have a very very accurate idea of what is a fair price and more importantly, what is a fair exchange.