“Love this weather” said no property manager today ever…
Before I start, here is my disclaimer. I don’t think all agents are bad and/or act in bath faith (but many are/do)…so with that in mind let’s see how many puddles I can step in today.
It’s long been thought that real estate is ripe for disruption, a billion dollar industry with a lot of relatively unskilled people making a mozza… am I right? Anyways, I’ve often wondered what that disruption could actually look like. In most seismic industry shifts it has taken the form of removing barriers between consumers and increasing transparency, Airbnb and Uber come to mind.
Conversely, the real estate industry seems to be trying to bolt the other way. To buy and sell a property these days you may be led to believe that you need a seller’s advocate, a selling agent, a buyer’s agent’s advocate (gawd…has to be coming soon) and a buyer’s agent…the ticket is getting well and truly clipped…and you are the ticket.
The rise of buyer’s agents is a great example of this…I mean…sorry but some folks are being taken for a ride. On a daily basis we hear frustrated people in the marketplace not getting what they were promised. Let me go on record again in saying that there are some fine buyer’s agents that add value and that some people do benefit by having a buyer’s agent (ducks for cover)…
It feels to me like the value proposition for much of the industry is predicated on myths, buyer’s agents ham up the access to exclusive off markets, selling agents cook up stories about buyers that deal with them and only them. Listings are spread out so no serious buyer talks to only one agent, fun fact…there are more agents in Australia than kangaroos. More serious fact, active buyers follow the listings, not the agents.
My advice to friends is that to make a good agent relationship work you need trust and transparency. You want to know what they know when they know it and be able to see it. If you are selling, get the offers in writing so you can see them. If you are buying ensure that your buyer’s agent is exclusive to you in your price range and that you are aware of all properties they know of – not just the ones they show you.
An easy hack is to get everything in writing, always.
Admittedly this is an extreme example but everyone loves a good story on a rainy day. Not long ago I was selling a house and the buyer’s agent arrived early to brief me on what to say to his clients. He told me to tell them that we were close to selling, we had an overseas buyer yadda yadda yadda…but here’s the thing, we weren’t close to selling and the overseas buyer wasn’t a thing. He then went on to say that if they bought the house he would help me get their property to sell (and of course he would get part of my fee). That all sounds pretty legit…right?
Great to see a rate cut this week, even better to hear that another one or two may be coming down the line.
Until next week,
David Murphy