Has anyone noticed an apathy with sales staff lately?

im a cashed up buyer, and on the lookout for a good piece of future developable land. Only in NW Sydney.

Lately I noticed hardly anything has a price on it and most have been for sale for up to a year. So it’s the old ring around to find out the prices etc, but over 1/2 the agents don’t even take your number so they can call you back if the price moves.

Agents don’t seem to be working their vendors.

I’m also looking for a Terrigal holiday house and all the high end properties have been for sale from 8 months to 4 years. With prices the same despite the fact they were too high a year ago.

I think a good sweep out of these agents is overdue

 

So you want the agent to get the vendor to price the property at what you want to pay?

I don’t think it works like that.
Marg

 

From my 39 years of experience as a successful licensed real estate agent, land banker and developer, if a property is being advertised for 3 months or longer, then only a stupid agent would not try and convince his client that the property is over priced and needs some adjustment. If properties on average have gone down 10% in 18 months and your property is still for sale at the same price, there is something wrong with the agent not the buyer.

 

Isnt there a third party to all of this.

 

We (Sydney) have had a couple of years of extraordinary growth and selling hasn't been overly difficult. A typical agent's strategy has been step 1) place property on market for auction step 2) sell at auction more than the property is worth at the time.

With any growing market comes new blood (same story with mortgages) and thats all some people know. Now that the market has turned agents need to rely on new strategies (other than just auctions), they need to call potential buyers back, ask questions, develop relationships, etc.

The other trap that a lot of people fall in is that they will get a sales appraisal from a couple of agents and generally go with the highest not knowing that its completely unrealistic to get that price in this market. So they are advertising the wrong price which causes the listing to go stale.

 

Might be lag @Car tart . Up here in Darwin there was a few years between the market moving and the sellers (and agents) getting the memo...

 

In my experience if the agent wants to eat then yes they will sell the vendor down.

 

Well at least you have sorted the 50% of the Agents out -and when you look at those numbers on how long those properties have been listed subject to changes in interest rates and in the overall economy -not that it will worry you as being a cash buyer-but interest rates may well worry the vendors ..It's not the investment circle that counts -it's how well you know the parameters..Just don't tell them your a car sales person..

 

I wonder if there's a way to get in touch with the vendors directly as a last resort?

 

Yes, but in the end it is up to the vendor to agree. Some simply won’t budge.

The vendor sets the lowest price they will accept, just as the buyer sets the highest price they will pay.
Marg

 

Or the agent has quoted high to get the listing.
Marg

 

Based on what you are experiencing, I would say it isn’t far away .

 

34A Werrina Parade, Blue Bay NSW 2261 - House For Sale | Domain
Highest bid at auction was $2.9, I rang the agent yesterday and offered $3.0, agent said no, the vendors are asking $3.7. Then hangs up without asking my name or details. He did say he was busy with clients at that moment.
So the lazyness continues.

 

@Car tart - Not quite as grand but a better locale - Wamberal

 

It could also be a vendor who has their head in the clouds and said, I won’t accept anything under 3.7. Don’t even insult me with a call for less, blah blah.

It can be a two way street

 

Maybe go back to what used to happen 25 years ago as I still see these adds in the tenders and quotes ..
Just a simple 75$ add in the weekend high end newspaper --property wanted up too 3 mill cash buyer ---quick settlement ..
You could get up too 20 calls from that one add,and being a car sales property business person and being able to qualify most within 30 seconds between the dreamers ---tyre kickers ---then the terms ---conditions---and obligations clearly defined before you do the title search..Some will hang up and tell you to get stuffed -others will tell you everything

 

That one is $3.9 million for the land and a da to build a house. So $5 million,