Know what you need to know.

Meet Bob and Linda.

They didn’t select a winning agent.

Our Guide to Selecting a Winning Agent

Make sure you select a winning agent!

I’ve posted regularly about the essential criteria home owners need to cover with any potential real estate agent prior to appointing them to sell their home.

I’ve now collated this information into “Select A Winning Agent” available in eBook format and hard copy from the office.

In Select a Winning Agent, I outline how a vendor must focus on the facts and not the promises or perceptions of a real estate agent.

Topics Covered in Select a Winning Agent:

• Preparatory Research
• Preparing for your first agent meeting
• Questions you MUST ask an agent
• Tips to avoid sales “conditioning” by the agent
• Being aware of undermining tactics by a sales agent
• Enuring you have trust and transparency

For your FREE copy of Select a Winning Agent, email selectawinningagent@riverviewrealty.com.au and we will email you a copy.

regards,

Andrew Bruce 

Riverview Realty is a boutique agency focused on achieving the maximum price, with a client engagement that is above the industry standard.  We call it the “Ultimate Experience” which forms part of our unique selling proposition.

Ph. 02 9420 0083, 59 Tambourine Bay Road, Riverview.

You’re welcome to connect with us on social media: 

 

 

Underquoting: Is it still alive?

I have recently approached the NSW Government Minister for the Office of Fair Trading to raise concerns over the lack of full transparency with when it comes to agent/buyer, and agent/agent discussions over the disclosure of sales results.  In “Will Underquoting Ever Actually Stop?” Sasha De Bilde states:

Whilst it is all good and well that the Office of Fair Trading has brought in major changes to what agents can say when it comes to the marketing of a property, in reality, nothing has actually changed. Not the fault of the OFT, obviously something had to be done, but the changes have made no real impact into the actual problem… ‘Under-quoting’.

Whilst an agent can no longer say “offers over” or put a ‘+’ symbol after a price, the truth is, the agents that were most guilty of doing it before are still doing it now – in a slightly different way.

I totally agree with Sasha. The total market is entitled to have a better understanding of the actual dollar values properties are being sold for at the time of sale, rather than waiting 3 months to get the information via the Lands Title Office when the information is out of mind and out of date.

Non-disclosure?

Some agents could be using blanket non-disclosure of nearly all of their property sales as a potential cover up of underquoting. While on the subject – when it comes to reporting of sales many agents are advising the public and buyers when asked the question “what did that property sell for?” with a response along the lines of “that information is confidential” or “the vendor has requested non disclosure of the sale price”. That has to be absolute rubbish as only about 2-3% of vendors have ever requested non-disclosure of the sale price with my sales. I took the liberty and personally checked the validity of other agent’s claims of non-disclosure with vendors of other agent’s sales. The vendor’s response was they had no knowledge of that arrangement or ever gave those instructions to their agent.

I have been in sales for 37 years and with some authority can say good sales people are more than willing to tell of their sales success results.

The last word on the subject:

This week I received a direct marketing piece in my letterbox from a large franchise agent who was proudly advertising the fact she sold a property over reserve by $360K. Well sorry, but one has to ask the question: Isn’t that a case of underquoting?

Or does the agent not have a clue on what they are doing? With a sale price of just over the $2.M mark and other recent sales in the area to support that sale price, well it does appear to be over the 10% range the office of Fair trading allows agents to quote in. Can agents get it that wrong? I will let you be the judge.

regards,

Andrew Bruce & Samia Malouf

Riverview Realty is a boutique agency focused on achieving the maximum price, with a client engagement that is above the industry standard.  We call it the “Ultimate Experience” which forms part of our unique selling proposition.

Ph. 02 9420 0083, 59 Tambourine Bay Road, Riverview.

You’re welcome to connect with us on social media: 

 

Local Property: Right Here, Right Now

At a recent Partners Wealth Group / AMP function, economists and advisors gave a brief and broad overview of the state of the global economy and its impact on Australia.

From a property perspective, Australia’s housing market is the most stretched in the world. There is an over-supply issue with apartments, but if interest rates level out or decrease further, this issue should work itself out. It was noted that China central govt is pumping a lot of money into the economy to drive more activity.

From a political perspective, they commented that Donald Trump’s bid for the Republican nomination is producing some uncertainty, however if elected, it appears he will have to play to the interest groups. It’s a line ball game between Trump and Clinton. So not much to worry about.

Global growth is difficult to predict, Europe is tiring but should bounce back. The question asked at the function was “If you had $100 where would you put it?” The panel noted European shares (but wait for growth) or wait for local interest rates to pick up.

In Australia we’re looking at a low interest/lower return for equity markets for some time to come which raises the question about where people will park their money?

Now is a great time to be selling real estate in Sydney. Stock levels are down by 25% and these low stock levels are still driving prices in an upward direction.

regards,

Andrew Bruce, Samia Malouf, and staff.

Riverview Realty is a boutique agency focused on achieving the maximum price, with a client engagement that is above the industry standard.  We call it the “Ultimate Experience” which forms part of our unique selling proposition.

Ph. 02 9420 0083, 59 Tambourine Bay Road, Riverview.

You’re welcome to connect with us on social media: 

 

Two of Sydney’s best-kept secrets

Two of Sydney’s best-kept secrets? No, it’s not Samia and I, it is of course Lane Cove and Riverview. Last Sunday, our thoughts on the local market were featured in Domain. Please see the story below.

click on the image above for a larger version

Lane Cove and Riverview are perfectly situated to advantage of close proximity to the CBD, Chatswood, North Ryde, and the Macquarie Park business district. Families and young professional couples make up the bulk of the local population, and enjoy a variety of local shopping and dining options, parks and outdoor spaces, and access to excellent private and public schools. Quick access to Chatswood and Macquarie Centre provides residents with greater shopping and entertainment options.

Due to recent development in Lane Cove, Lane Cove North and Linley Point, unit stock is in good supply. Housing stock has been in over supply for the spring season and will tighten up for Christmas and the New Year. Lane Cove house stock consists of three main property types: Original Post War, Original renovated, and new build. The price points for these homes are $1.8-$1.9m, $1.9-$2.5m, $2.7-$3.4m respectively.

Both Andrew and Samia have lived locally for over 20 years and believe Lane Cove and Riverview are Sydney’s best kept secret. There’s good buying at present. Who knows what is ahead for 2016? Recent commentary suggests low single digit growth next year.

regards,

Andrew Bruce, Samia Malouf, and staff.

Riverview Realty is a boutique agency focused on achieving the maximum price, with a client engagement that is above the industry standard.  We call it the “Ultimate Experience” which forms part of our unique selling proposition.

Ph. 02 9420 0083, 59 Tambourine Bay Road, Riverview.

You’re welcome to connect with us on social media: 

 

Effective real estate search?

We market a number of Riverview and Lane Cove properties, so you would think that someone searching for properties in Longueville and surrounding suburbs would see Riverview (the next suburb) when they widen their search to surrounding suburbs using www.RealEstate.com.au correct?

No.  When both us and our vendor tested Real Estate’s surrounding suburbs option, when searching Longueville properties, we saw, Balmain, Rozelle, Hunters Hill, Artarmon properties, but nothing for Riverview! Why is this important? Well you may think we’re just worried about our own listings (which we are of course!) BUT we’re concerned for all potential buyers who aren’t seeing all the possible properties bordering Longueville.  We are responsible to our vendors to ensure the maximum number of potential buyers view their property. RealEstate.com.au isn’t helping our commitment to our customers and is literally wasting the vendor’s valuable marketing dollars.

When we complain  to the REA’s customer service desk they take very little interest, don’t really understand the issue, and don’t want to do anything about it.  We just receive a diatribe of excuses as to why it cannot be fixed.

regards,

Andrew Bruce, Samia Malouf, and staff.

Riverview Realty is a boutique agency focused on achieving the maximum price, with a client engagement that is above the industry standard.  We call it the “Ultimate Experience” which forms part of our unique selling proposition.

Ph. 02 9420 0083, 59 Tambourine Bay Road, Riverview.

You’re welcome to connect with us on social media: 

 

Lane Cove real estate agents ranked 5th for underquoting in Sydney

This news piece from Domain below just confirms what we have been saying for many months on the subject of underquoting. We look forward to the new underquoting Bill passing through NSW parliament shortly (outlined below).

This will be a game changer for vendors and buyers and will stop dodgy agents overquoting to vendors (to secure a listing) or underquoting t0 sellers to hasten the sale no matter what the result. It will create realistic and evidence-based property pricing for sellers and buyers.

Agents will not be able to quote prices to buyers outside the selling agency agreement know as the “estimated selling price or price range”.

Sydney’s most inaccurate house-price quoting is happening in the city’s north-west, according to data that shows prices in some suburbs have been incorrectly quoted by almost a quarter during the winter period.

But agents have hit back at the data from price predictor tool realAs, saying the suburbs in question are being targeted by an international market and developers who are willing to pay above and beyond a reasonable market value.

RealAs figures, which compare the publicly quoted price to the eventual sold price of a property at auction, show the majority of the city’s worst suburbs for price quoting, including North Ryde, Gladesville, Epping and Lane Cove, lie north-west of the CBD. via www.domain.com.au

 

UNDERQUOTING REFORMS – New laws coming soon

Underquoting describes when an agent understates the estimated selling price of a property. This can cause interested buyers to waste time and money on inspecting properties, getting reports and attending auctions based on misleading estimates of the selling price.

The NSW Government is introducing reforms that address underquoting in the NSW property market and provide clarity for buyers, agents and vendors. The reforms are designed to prevent properties being underquoted – that is, marketed at a price less than the agent’s true estimate of the selling price. The proposed laws would also enable effective enforcement. By setting clear requirements for agents to understand and adhere to, agents will be able to be audited against the new requirements and prosecuted if they breach them.

The reforms will be before the NSW Parliament in the coming weeks and are expected to commence in early 2016. Consumers can refer to this page for updates, while agents should check they are subscribed to our Property Industry News email alerts.

Simply because a property sells for higher than a buyer expects it to does not mean underquoting has occurred. Sometimes competitive buyer behaviour can result in a much higher sale price than what an agent could have reasonably estimated the property to sell for. The reforms will however require an agent to be able to show that their estimate was reasonable, up-to-date and evidence-based.

The underquoting Bill will shortly be available on the NSW Parliament website: www.parliament.nsw.gov.au

regards,

Andrew Bruce

Riverview Realty is a boutique agency focused on achieving the maximum price, with a client engagement that is above the industry standard.  We call it the “Ultimate Experience” which forms part of our unique selling proposition.

Ph. 02 9420 0083, 59 Tambourine Bay Road, Riverview.

You’re welcome to connect with us on social media: 

 

 

No Property Bubble in Lane Cove

There was a very healthy turnout for one of our recent auctions in Lane Cove. There’s strong demand as a recent Domain article by Kate Farrelly suggests.

A strong turnout at one of our recent auctions.

With a swath of apartment developments under construction or newly built, there are plenty of units to choose from, but only nine houses on the market as Domain went to press.

So it’s little surprise that the median house price rose 19 per cent in the 12 months to March this year and now sits at $1,538,750, edging closer to the traditionally more expensive suburb of Willoughby, which has a median house price of $1.63 million.

Properties close to the newly upgraded village centre are keenly sought, with large family homes pulling record prices. There have been eight $2-million-plus sales over the past year, the highest in Little Street, which sold for $2,875,000 in November.

Locals like

It’s less than 10 kilometres to the CBD via the Gore Hill freeway and a short drive to the shopping and dining mecca of Chatswood. There are large expanses of bushland, including a slice of waterfront reserve, good primary schools and a growing choice of shops in the village and on Burns Bay Road, where a new IGA Express has opened its doors.

Andrew Bruce, Principal of Riverview Realty said: “We’ve seen massive price increases in the Willoughby Council area including Chatswood, Willoughby, Naremburn, and Chatswood West and it appears that some of this is rubbing off in Lane Cove with strong, above-market prices. The value-proposition of Lane Cove is finally being understood.”

Bubble?

Riverview Realty auction time in Lane Cove.

“There’s a lot of talk in the market of a bubble, but according to Alan Kohler’s Eureka Report the Sydney market is about 14% above the historical trend line. What we’ve seen is not your classic property boom as it is now going on three years and it’s been front of mind for quite some time. According to recent reports, housing is set to grow by low single digits next year, suggesting a softer landing as opposed to a crash.”

“It would be fair to say that within the property clock cycle, we are coming up to the 12th hour.”

regards,

Andrew Bruce & Samia Malouf

Riverview Realty is a boutique agency focused on achieving the maximum price, with a client engagement that is above the industry standard.  We call it the “Ultimate Experience” which forms part of our unique selling proposition.

Ph. 02 9420 0083, 59 Tambourine Bay Road, Riverview.

You’re welcome to connect with us on social media: 

 

 

 

Underquoting crackdown: A boost for home buyers

Earlier this week, NSW Premier Mike Baird and Minister for Fair Trading Matthew Mason-Cox announced a re-elected Baird Government will crack down on underquoting by real estate agents in the property market.

Samia and Andrew – Riverview Realty

Regular readers of Riverview Realty’s blog would know that underquoting is an issue we despise, but it is a topic that needs to be discussed, an as such, is one that we blog about regularly.

Catch up on on previous blog posts including why Some agents should go to hell, and Sins of the Agent: Underquoting.

In the media release, the Premier of NSW states:

“The reforms will improve confidence among homebuyers and close any loopholes that agents may be exploiting,” Mr Baird said. “Under the new laws, it will be illegal for agents to advertise a property for less than the selling price they have outlined in their agreement with the vendor. We want to create a fairer system for potential buyers who are prepared to spend money on building and pest inspection reports believing the property is in their price range.” 

“Agents caught underquoting already face fines of $22,000. Under the new laws, they will also lose all fees and commissions made from the sale. Buying a property is one of the biggest purchases many people will make, which is why we’re taking extra steps to ensure homebuyers have a fair marketplace. Underquoting cheats potential homebuyers and undermines the integrity of the real estate industry and we want to send a clear message to rogue real estate agents that it won’t be tolerated.”

Further in the release, Mr Mason-Cox, Minister for Fair Trading said changes will be made to legislation to clear up the confusion around what constitutes underquoting.

“The laws will be changed to recognise underquoting has occurred if the advertised selling price of a property is less than the price indicated in the agent’s agreement with the vendor,” he said. “The new laws will also focus on advertising and will require all property advertisements to specify a dollar price or price range as opposed to ‘offers over’ to give potential buyers a better idea of the real market value of the property. We’ll also protect vendors from agents who misrepresent a property’s potential selling price in return for the listing. All too often we hear about agents promising vendors a selling price they’re unlikely to ever achieve to secure their listing before pressuring them to agree to a lower price once the property sells.”

NSW Fair Trading has already begun acting on the real estate industry, very publicly probing agencies across the city, particularly in Southern parts of Sydney. Real Estate agents who have their training up to date, and have nothing to hide, welcome Fair Trading’s inspections.

regards,

Andrew Bruce & Samia Malouf

Riverview Realty is a boutique agency focused on achieving the maximum price, with a client engagement that is above the industry standard.  We call it the “Ultimate Experience” which forms part of our unique selling proposition.

Ph. 02 9420 0083, 59 Tambourine Bay Road, Riverview.

You’re welcome to connect with us on social media: 

 

 

Real Estate website traffic: The numbers don’t add up

In previous posts we’ve highlighted the differences between boutique agents such as ourselves and  the major franchises.

In Selecting a selling agent: Brand vs Boutique we noted that:

The big agencies are quick to advertise they offer more than what a boutique agency can. “National network, local knowledge” or “tap into our network of buyers” is often used in the sales pitch. The reality is that the majority of the real estate marketing is now beholden to the two large digital advertising sites RealEstate.com.au and Domain.com.au. Both these sites are in the Top 50 Australian websites by traffic*. Many of the traffic rankings for the big franchises are well outside the top 1000 websites.

In The Importance of Digital and Social Media Marketing we revealed:

Digital marketing of a property is nothing new. Websites such as Domain.com.au and RealEstate.com.au have been around for over 10 years and are in the top 50 Australian websites by traffic and can’t be ignored in a real estate campaign. Around 95% of purchasers seek property via these two websites through different touch points including traditional PCs or laptops, tablets and smart phones.

We’ve done a bit more research:

We’ve done a bit more research and can report that all the major branded real estate websites have on average:

• 8 daily page views per visitor
• Visitors spend 2.31 minutes on their site.

Now, I’m not suggesting our web traffic is any better ( it could actually be worse) but what I am suggesting is that as we’ve mentioned previously, Domain.com.au and RealEstate.com.au are the most popular real estate listing websites. I’d much prefer a property we’re marketing be found through either of these sites as opposed to RiverviewRealty.com.au – because that’s what we’re paying for!

Consider those average numbers above. To give you some comparison:

Realestate.com.au is the 17^th most visited website in Australia and has:

• 12 daily page views per visitor
• Visitors spend over 11 minutes on the site

Domain.com.au is the 40^th most visited website in Australia and has:

• 5 daily page views per visitor
• Visitors spend close to 7 and a half minutes on the site.

So next time a selling agent talks about their website and the hits they get, consider these numbers.  I’d bet their numbers don’t add up!

*Website data compiled from www.Alexa.com

regards,

Andrew Bruce and Samia Malouf

Riverview Realty is a boutique agency focused on achieving the maximum price, with a client engagement that is above the industry standard.  We call it the “Ultimate Experience” which forms part of our unique selling proposition.

Ph. 02 9420 0083, 59 Tambourine Bay Road, Riverview.

You’re welcome to connect with us on social media: 

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