Auction clearance rate plunges

Posted to The Age (4/12/2012) on 4/12/2012 at 4:36 PM
Commenting on "Auction clearance rate plunges"
http://theage.domain.com.au/real-estate-news/auctions-looking-up-as-rates-go-down-20121204-2asok.html

The APM figures are quite rubbery. Each week, the auction results of major cities are published online in The Age under auction results. The figures do not quite match the REIV results published in the Sunday Age. The question is, which one is more reliable?

I have written on many occasions that real estate agents tend not to report unfavourable auction / sale results, to avoid tarnishing their sales records, which the agents tend to brag to the potential vendors when appraising properties,

Auction results do not paint a realistic picture about the real estate market. During bad time like now, many houses are in the market to be sold by private treaty (private sale). Agents tend to ask for big marketing expense for auction, and owners who are in financial difficulty cannot afford to pay the additional money. It must also be noted that many smaller agencies do not encourage auction, because they do not have an in-house auctioneer or do not want vendor to incur an external auctioneer fee. Additional expense will make the agent to be less competitive in such cut throat commission base business.

Sale auction is moving to middle

Posted to The Age (25/11/12) on 30/11/2012 at 4:05 AM
Commenting on "Sale auction is moving to middle"
http://theage.domain.com.au/real-estate-news/sale-action-is-moving-to-middle-20121124-2a0cn.html

The increase in sales by Barry Plant Glen Waverley may not be due to improved market conditions. The Glen Waverley office changed ownership during this year. The previous owner put in more effort in his winning race horse than running the business. Currently, Glen Waverly office belongs to a group who owns several offices; synergy and pooled resources seem to pay off.

Without given a more comprehensive set of statistics, it is difficult to say whether the increase is due to cannibalisation of other real estate companies’ business in the area.

When the boom dies, many smaller agencies had their last grasp of sales by offering extremely competitive commission to vendors, which could also explained lower sales in the previous year by larger companies. These competitors are now history, resulting in "less man more share".

Readers must also take note that there are a lot more houses not sold by auction. Many vendors cannot afford to pay money for an auction campaign which requires more advertising money to get additional exposure in various media. Many vendors are already having trouble to pay their mortgage, let alone advertisement.

Wanted: a visionary to plug the leadership

Posted to The Age(14/4/2012) on 14/4/2012 at 2:15 PM (Not published by Newspaper)
Commenting on "Wanted: a visionary to plug the leadership"
http://www.theage.com.au/national/wanted-a-visionary-to-plug-the-leadership-hole-20120413-1wz3p.html

I called 4 real estate agents to appraise a house, and only young representative impressed me very much. The house was a rental property, dated with telltale sign of mission brown door frame and skirting. However, he did not see all these as the downside. He was very enthusiastic, saw the potential, talked about the positives and explained how he would market the house.

Whether he could sell the house eventually is secondary, but he excited me by giving me hope that the house could be sold at the current depressive market. He never put any other real estate agents down; in fact throughout the whole appraisal process he concentrated his energy in the house only.

Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott are worse than lack lustre and lack vision; they lack the enthusiasm and salesmanship to put ideas across. They lack the important rapport called honesty and trust. Their views are superficial and mainly party line driven.

Julia Gillard is like a little spoilt brat; she wants her way to get the carbon tax bill passed, miscalculates the Malaysian solution and refuses to impose GST on online imports less than AUD1000; despite the public outcry, the risk of wiping out most of the small businesses which employed bulk of the working population and torment the already heavily debt-ridden farmers who are the guardians of the Australian food bowls.

Tony Abbott has to work on his body language. However, body language is a reflection of what he is within. It would be better if Tony Abbott could come up with something more positive in revitalising the manufacturing industries or any industry for that matter.

On many occasions, political parties use negative campaign to scare voters on their choice, but time and again the tactic failed. Polls after polls people of Australia have spoken that they want a strong a leader, a leader that leads and not to kowtow to foreign powers; a leader to give us hope, create job opportunity for present and younger generation and drive Australia economy further.

China was a third world country perceived to have nothing to live for during early Mao’s time. Australia was a lucky country according to Donald Horne then. Now China has the largest airport, fastest train, tallest building, rocket, space station, factories that building hi-tech computers and electronic, factory of the world, etc. What do we have in Australia – primary producing industries that cannot absorb all the so called smart Australians having university degrees? Can Julia Gillard or Tony Abbott do anything to move Australia forward?

Home price falls accelerate 5

Posted to The Age (30/11/2011) on 6/12/2011 at 5:49 PM
Commenting on "Home price falls accelerate"
http://theage.domain.com.au/real-estate-news/home-price-falls-accelerate-20111202-1oa67.html

@sjncheng, I believe you can learn a thing or two from "William - Prices Catches you out - exclude it too" about ethics.

If you are working for a real estate agency, you are either blinded by your boss or reciting from your textbook. If you own an estate agency, it is time to come clean with your vendors or potential vendors how much of the advertised space, in newspaper, magazine and sign board, is for promoting your agency.

BTW, sjncheng, I am a qualified real estate trainer, adviser and mentor. I give my best honest opinion and assessment when writing my comments.

Super Saturday results just so-so

Posted to The Age (24/10/2011) on 24/10/2011 at 10:53 AM
Commenting on “Super Saturday results just so-so”
http://www.theage.com.au/business/super-saturday-results-just-soso-20111023-1mebh.html

A real estate agent is playing the devil's advocate - he has to sell the property on the behalf of the owner in order to get his commission. In theory he is trying to get as much as possible for the owner (principal). If he is looking after the owner's interest, how can he look after the interest of the buyer at the same time? At best, he achieves a compromise for both parties.

A buyer advocate may have a qualification as a real estate agent, but his role is quite different. A buyer advocate buys on behalf of someone who is interested in a property. Unfortunately, unlike a normal real estate agent who generally works in restricted territory or locality bound, a buyer advocate is free to operate across “boundaries”. As a result, he may not have as much local knowledge as a real estate agent, and therefore there is no guarantee that a buyer advocate can get the best price for their client. Not unlike a real estate agent in this instance, if a buyer advocate cannot make a deal on the property the interested buyer requested, he does not get his fee.

There is time to buy, and time to sell. It’s your blood, sweat and tears hard earned savings. Invest wisely and don’t be gung-ho in making that expensive decision! You spend time shopping for cheap petrol and grocery prices, and yet you probably have not spent enough time when come to researching for house prices.

Melbourne home buyers paying $90,000 too much – report

Posted to Herald Sun (8/10/2011) on 8/10/2011 at 1:57 AM, 9:38 PM
Commenting on “Melbourne home buyers paying $90,000 too much – report”
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/more-news/melbourne-home-buyers-paying-90000-too-much-report/story-fn7x8me2-1226161600542

Many buyers do pay at least 10 to 15% more than they should. They have little or no negotiation skill and are far too eager to offer higher than worth when they see the property that suits their need. Unfortunately, they really think that they become experts in the real estate field after a few months of house hunting, or after a few buying or selling experiences. They forget that an average real estate agent (representative) has to sell/list a property a week to break-even, or about 40 over the year. In good times the number can triple or quadruple.

Just remember, a real estate agent is playing the devil's advocate - he has to sell the property on the behalf of the owner in order to get his commission. In theory he is trying to get as much as possible for the owner (principal). If he is looking after the owner's interest, how can he look after the interest of the buyer at the same time? At best, he achieves a compromise for both parties.

I am neither a buyer advocate nor seller advocate. I guide my "client" at every step of the buying or selling process, including price negotiation. It is more than just naming a price; it is a chess game and requires a lot of crystal ball gazing.