Real Estate Agent BS And How To Avoid It
Want to read the real estate agent’s playbook? The one liners, the stretched truths and the false pressure agents use to get a property to auction is eye rolling. Take a peek here, it’s all laid out for you. Plus, we tell you why they do it and how to avoid it so you can get your ideal home quicker than a swipe right on Tinder.
There's an old saying in real estate: “Quote ‘em low and watch ‘em go.”
Estate agents are rewarded by driving prices up as high as possible for a buyer. Their job is to help the seller – and make money for themselves at the same time. When you are looking to buy property, watch out for these common real estate agent sayings.
“It’s got to go to auction”, said every agent, ever
We’ve heard that one a few times. Here are the other bait lines you’re likely to hear if you try and buy a property today.
“Vendors have advised us they prefer to go to auction.”
“We want to run it to auction to let the market decide the price.”
“It’s new to market so we want to get some market feedback on price before making any further decisions on selling.”
“We want the first weekend at the very minimum for market feedback.”
“There are no comparable sales for such a unique property so auction is the fairest method for buyer and seller to determine fair market value.”
And then just before auction day rolls around you’ll hear…
"Our two frontrunners couldn’t get finance in time for tomorrow’s auction. But they will have by early next week so your best opportunity is to bid tomorrow and secure it first."
“The sellers have purchased another home and must sell at auction – they have set a very realistic reserve to meet market and ensure it’s sold on the day.”
These are used by agents everyday across Australia during an auction campaign to create a stressful buyer’s environment they can use to their sellers advantage.
Now you need to know why they serve up these lines, how it can affect you and how to navigate all that BS…
Why they want to sell via auction and not receive your early offer
If an agent turns away your strong early offer in the campaign… it buys them time to introduce more buyers to compete against you and drive the price up.
If your offer is a strong one… they would be giving their seller good news which possibly makes it harder to get the seller under control when it comes to price expectations.
If they have to engage other buyers and inform them of your strong offer… they run the risk of losing those buyers who don’t see the same value and kill their auction campaign momentum.
If they can subtly turn away your strong offers… they are aiming to build up multiple interested buyers who will all compete under auction conditions.
Real estate agents love auctions
The truth is, agents prefer to sell under the hammer because it can make them more money. Auctions are attractive for agents for several reasons:
1. Creates competition
Buyers pitted against each other in a pressure cooker auction environment lifts the chances of them paying a higher price thanks to competition, stress and nerves. It’s also easier for agents to bluff by creating non-existent competition to wrap up a deal with a solo buyer prior to auction.
2. Puts the vendor under pressure to sell
They’re more likely to accept a lower reserve and sale price under the stress of an auction and fear of underachieving price expectations.
3. Fear of loss
Agents play both sides of the deal, removing price from the equation, to give themselves the best shot at getting it sold under hammer at auction.
4. Faster sale
A typical four week auction campaign means more sales and more commission each year for the agent – plus it’s a solid win in the public spotlight that boosts their profile.
The successful agent’s secret sauce
Now here’s the juicy bit, the trick real estate agents use to lure you into bidding:
- Quietly build up buyer interest in the campaign period
- Give buyers false hope of a low selling range to ensure they focus on bidding at auction
- Pretend they lose a buyer or two in the final days prior to give you a higher chance of winning at auction
How to avoid all this agent BS
Skip the auction altogether by talking to Hello Haus, Australia’s top property negotiators. We’re professional property negotiators with decades of real estate experience. So whatever BS the agent is giving you, we’ve heard it all before and we know just how to combat it. We’ll take care of the price negotiations you can fast forward through the sales process, and get the house you want for LESS than your target price.
Sometimes, when the market is at its hottest, auctions are unavoidable so it’s important to understand the agent’s tricks we’ve explained above. If you’re not sure, chat with us.
There’s no catch and no BS at Hello Haus.
Learn how it works and grab your Hello Haus cheat sheet for your next open home.
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