Blog comments

• If we look at any other auction process, art, cars, jewels, they are all veru successful and understood processes. There is a starting price and a reserve price. How many pieces of artwork do we hear about going for a record price at auction with nobody even taking notice because its art. Why should houses be any different? There is a start price, and a reserve price and some get record results, others sell on the reserve, some dont even sell. If you are buying home, you will not buy the first one you look at, so you do your homework, get to know the market and pay accordingly. It seems o be all the first timers crying to mum and dad that they missed out on this one and hat one and no name media people trying to make a name for themselves in the papers who are stiring the pot and blowing this thing up. If a Real Estate agent must tell a buyer everything, then the buyer must tell the agent how much they are prepered to pay for a house. This way the agent can let everyone else know. While the public keep all their information to themselves, the agent will always be left guessing.
  Do we go to registration mode for auctions?? Name phone number and price willing to bid to?? How would the buyers feel about legislation on them giving agents up front information. Sure they would crack it about that well. Get over it and move on.

  Get Over It Tuesday 4 August, 2009 - 1:14 PM

• Think Real Estate Monitor is a great idea but have you noticed the last few days prices have been taken off ads to be replaced by 'price on application'. So now you have to call the real estate agent so they can underquote. Sorry but verbal underquoting is just as bad as underquoting on ads.

  Denise Thursday 23 July, 2009 - 5:08 PM

• Underquoting is rife is in the real estate industry but if people do their homework they can probably get a reasonable feel for the price. I still don't agree with the 'quote low and watch them go attitude'!
  
  What really gets my blood pressure up is the 'PLUS PRICE' tactic. What the hell is plus about? Plus bloody what? A dollar? Ten thousand dollars?
  
  Another gripe is with the "SET SALE' rubbish. Where buyers are invited to submit an offer by a set date and then wait and see if the vendor likes it or not. This is in essence an auction but much less transparent and underhanded. No one gets to see the other 'bidders'. The vendor and agent just sit back in comfort and wait for the offers to roll in. Sneaky!
  
  And yet another gem. Where a property is advertised as a 'FORTHCOMMING AUCTION'. No set date or time. This is just a vile way of the vendor 'testing ' the waters. If they get a great offer they MIGHT take it. Or if they can see they have interest in the property an auction date is set with the price range set from the "bunnies' who have already made offers or shown interest. Basically using prospective buyers for their own market research. So damn low!

  Mauzie Thursday 23 July, 2009 - 10:32 AM

• John T thanks for your blog. I was only responding to Kev's assumption that I am a communist. I was setting the record straight. I was exercising my right of reply so in fact my my earlier reply was relevant to what was said.

  Paul thank you for accepting my earlier blog of apology.

  John T do you have any comments regarding the topic on this blog?

  Thanks champ!

  Have a nice day.

  Martin Tuesday 14 July, 2009 - 9:45 AM

• Guys & Gals it is getting a little heated in here, Sarcasm is fine but abuse is unwarranted!
  Buying and selling real estate is emotional, people love their homes that's why they live there, people imagine setting their lives up in a particular location and dream of their kids growing up in that house. So emotions are always on the line, so is pride at an auction, it's a show of strength, who has the deeper pockets, I can understand people's frustrations if they dont have the budget to buy a house but why is it the Agents fault? We aren't issued with crystal balls to foresee the future when we get our licenses.
  Martin, why would any government earning as much money from an industry like real estate crack down too hard, if there was say 100 million dollars of property sales last week then the government earned a lazy 5.5 million in stamp duty from that for not lifting a finger, the real estate industry are like speed cameras so strategically placed around Victoria, gold mines. They will tinker with it occasionally when the consumer voices get too loud.

  Paul Monday 13 July, 2009 - 6:21 PM

• Martin,

  Thanks for the retraction, buying and selling homes is such an emotional issue. Focus always turns to estate agents when the market is rising so fast, I predicted 2 weeks ago that it wont be long before the media start jumping all over us again, they went missing last year when the bottom fell out of the market and prices decreased between 15 & 20% but that wasn't blamed on estate agents, it's only in a rising market that the finger is pointed at us.

  Agents use historical comparable sales information to assess a property's value, we dont know who the buyer will be, how many buyers will want to buy it and what they will pay for it.

  Buyers inspect homes and decide if they like it, they want to keep their interest to themselves so the agent is the last person they will give too much information to. Come auction day in heated markets we can get 4 or 5 bidders on most properties, I just dont know how we, as agents, are supposed to know what a buyer will pay for any particular property when we have no access to the financial capabilities of any particular buyer.

  Maybe we could introduce a system where whichever bidder bids the reserve price automatically buys the property and the auctioneer announces to the crowd that he will not allow potential buyers "to clearly pay too much for this property and that in the interests of consumer protection we have to deny the vendor an opportunity to profit on the back of buyer irrationality"

  I would love to hear from people about how you think the system could be fixed although I dont believe it is broken.

  Paul Monday 13 July, 2009 - 6:08 PM