Industry disruptors - real estate online websites

What do you think? would you ever sell your house with an online agency?

"Combine technology with Australia’s lucrative real estate market and you have fertile fields for disruptors. Britain’s online real estate agency Purplebricks made it’s debut into the Australian market in August. Operating a low-cost, no commission model, the agency claims to save vendors an estimated average of $11,500 when selling their home.

Others, including buyMyplace.com.au, forsalebyowner.com.au and propertynow.com.au, continue to keep agents on their toes by sparing vendors commission fees. And property price predictor and fellow disruptor RealAs.com is preparing to up the ante when it launches a range of services to bring buyers and sellers together."

 

I'm using buymyplace to sell one of my own IPs at the moment, do not recommend. Experience has been awful.

Haven't used the others to be able to comment on those but I don't think they'll disrupt in the near future.

Despite people hanging crap on RE's , there is some expertise used and like every profession in the world, you pay for that.

 

Websites don't sell houses. People sell houses.

 

I really hope we get to the point where real estate agent fees are more affordable I think it's a bit of a false economy it seems ridiculous that in this day and age with everything bought online that properties shouldn't be done that way as well through private sales

 

Just something else DIY imho. If you don't have to pay the agent's commission you can't claim it on your cgt cost base either.

 

Hi DT
What has been your experience ? I am keen to offload one IP and am vacillating between options presently...

 

What is affordable? Most people have no qualms about paying a tradie $70+/hour but not one cent to an agent?

Their skill is in goodwill, contacts and negotiation - obviously worth nothing for quick sale if it saves a month or more of interest.

 

I sold a property a few years ago using one of these sites. Got a price about 10-15% more than what two other agents originally appraised. They were surprised after I told them how much it was sold for.

It was a land value development site with an old house, so the sell was relatively easy.

Have sold many others using real estate agents.

 

With people buying houses all over Australia, I would like to see someone from Perth sell a house in Melbourne DIY. Even for an auction there is a 4 week marketing campaign, 8 home opens etc. I guess you could fly over every weekend and open it on Saturday and Sunday. I think that would get old very quickly though.

 

I would like to use an agent if they didn't charge such enormous commissions. Like Stamp Duty, it is no more work to sell a $3M house than it is to sell a $500K house, yet the fee is six times as much. They charge their fees for advertising based on the service you buy, not on a commission.

I'm a "fee for service" kind of girl.

 

Most of the agents I know heavily scale their commission structures based on the property value - especially on the value levels you're suggesting, not a linear commission.

 

I have just sold an IP myself with Buymyplace and the experience was very good, efficient, quick turnaround, clockwork. So with everything YMMV.

 

Friend just sold his house using one of the online listing companies. Sold in 9 days and got at the top of the price range quoted by RE agents supported by his own research. Company fee around $4K, quoted commission circa $40K.
Marg

 

Everyone has $500k, few people have $3m to spend on a single purchase. It is the skill, networks etc of the agent to source adequate and qualified buyers in that price range.

 

Really? Wouldn't the $3m buyer still go online and look at offerings in his or her desired suburb, then approach the listing agent. Same as what everyone else does.

 

@Angel - There just happens to be fewer of them. I've had buyers on the hook for over $2m for land going back to when the Sydney median was $650-700k. The number of views on the property portals were about 1/5 of sales at the median.

The property was scarce/unique but the numbers of qualified buyers was quite low.

 

O

Yes , the active buyers might.

However, A surprisingly large amount of high end sales are made to buyers who aren't active and are inspired to look when the property is put in front of them via marketing or direct approach.

 

Hey @D.T. interested to know what parts didn't work ?

 

We bought our beautiful house while we weren't actively looking for a ppor... we just saw the street sign and we were in the area at the time the open was on....

 

It's not what they charged that should be your concern. Rather it's what you pay them. Agents fees are negotiable. I usually tell the agent what I will pay them (not vice versa).