All real estate agents who act on behalf of a vendor to market their property to sell or lease are required to have an Agency Agreement with the vendor. The Agency Agreement outlines what is expected of each party, the terms & conditions, fees, commissions and expenses which the vendor will be charged.
Subsequent interest rate rises, the US downturn in the property market and uncertainty in the longevity of the mining boom has resulted in a buyers property market across Australia. The hot Australian property market has now cooled to an autumns day and is on the verge of slipping into a cold winter. For sellers this is not great but for buyers this posses a great opportunity particularly in investment properties in capital cities.
For a long time the return on investment properties across Australia has only be 2% to 4% (excluding capital gains) which compared to the return of a bank deposit account of 5%+ it isn’t that great. The reason for this hasn’t been that rental levels in Australia are low, as these have been rising steadily for the past ten years. Rather, it is because property values in Australia have increased ridiculously over the past ten years, much greater than rental incomes.
Private sellers much like real estate agents need to be contactable by telephone 24 hours a day during the marketing campaign for their property. If a private seller neglects to answer a telephone enquiry from a potential buyer or does not return an enquiry message then often that lead will forget about the property.
If you have ever seen a good real estate agent working you will notice they are always on the telephone. This is because there business is about creating and generating leads. Every new enquiry an agent receives could be a buyer for not only the property the person is enquiring about but perhaps another property the agent has listed.
Further to the post which i published last month MyHome has been rescued and was purchased a few days ago by Shane Dale. It is believed he paid just over 1 million dollars for Myhome which he was involved in creating a few years ago.
Shane was the owner of SurroundPix which Myhome purchased a few years ago for amount believed to be around 7 million dollars. It appears Mr Dale has done quite well from the deal and now has a chance to put his stamp on the real estate portal sector.
Lets hope he has some fresh ideas for the website and some bold plans to turn Myhome into a major competitor of Domain and REA. I wish him all the best!
During a period when there is an oversupply of properties on the market those properties which sell for the price owners are requesting are those properties which are unique and presented well. It is important to make sure your property is positioned so it stands out and is more attractive than other properties available for sale around you.
You should attend open home inspections in your neighbourhood investigating competing properties which are on the market around you. This will give you insight into two important things, the first is how your property is priced compared to similar properties and the second is how your property is presented in comparison to similar priced property.
