Estate Agent - who's he working for?

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ted

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My EA rang me yesterday and asked me would I reduce my selling price by 10k as he has a buyer interested but not at my asking price. I asked was there an offer. He said no. I told him to get in touch with the interested party and tell him that we were open to all offers. Didn't want to be discounting the house without an offer because I feel that the interested party will start negotiating on the reduced price. Did I do the right thing?
 
Re: Estatge Agent - who's he working for?

I think you did the right thing....Next week will clear the stamp duty air issue at last, then one could see mini market activity up to the Aug hols . (4/5 weeks away from end of next week. ) If your not under time pressure then keep your cool
 
Re: Estatge Agent - who's he working for?

i was told from a reputable source that EA's are advising sellers to reduce prices to undercut one another - at 1% or less comission ten grand dosen't make a whole lot of difference to their fee. The EA is not acting in your interest here.
 
Re: Estatge Agent - who's he working for?

Yes I was bit annoyed and after a brief silence he told me he knew "how to play it". I'm paying 1% commission and I know that they'd probably like to be shut of it at €20,000 below asking as that's just €200 less in commission to them but a lot less work. Has anyone come across a sliding scale for commissions?
 
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Re: Estatge Agent - who's he working for?

Martinslan said:
I think you did the right thing....Next week will clear the stamp duty air issue at last, then one could see mini market activity up to the Aug hols . (4/5 weeks away from end of next week. ) If your not under time pressure then keep your cool
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This is a common misconception. Inventories of Second Hand Properties for Sale have risen greatly over the last year. Interest Rates have also risen greatly over the last year and 1/2. Houses not selling is because of affordability.

Stamp duty is only being changed for First Time Buyers. The already are exempt from Stamp Duty on houses under 317k. First Time Buyers buying houses over 317k is a very small % of the overall market 1 year ago. Circa 5% I would think.
 
Re: Estatge Agent - who's he working for?

ted said:
My EA rang me yesterday and asked me would I reduce my selling price by 10k as he has a buyer interested but not at my asking price. I asked was there an offer. He said no. I told him to get in touch with the interested party and tell him that we were open to all offers. Didn't want to be discounting the house without an offer because I feel that the interested party will start negotiating on the reduced price. Did I do the right thing?
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Estate Agent's work for themselves, plain and simple. They only get paid if a house Sale goes through. They don't get paid for houses sitting there for months on end or for Sale Agreed's that fall through.

You need to put together a proper strategy for selling your house. Are you happy for your house to sit there for 6 months, a year, maybe longer with nothing happening. The market has shifted significantly due to the rise of interest rates over the last year 1/2. For every .25% that interest rates have increased you can prob knock €10,000 off what a purchaser has to play with in regard to buying your house. It's no coincidence that the ECB put interest rates up by .25% at their meeting last week and now the EA is asking you to drop your price by €10,000.

If you don't want to drop your price now, at least set a target for dropping your price if nothing has happened by a certain date. Perhaps instead of dropping the price you could improve decor, kitchen bathroom etc (only if that appies).
 
Re: Estatge Agent - who's he working for?

I'm willing to drop by 10,000 but feel if I drop by ten before an offer is made then I'll be dropping by 20,000.
 
Re: Estatge Agent - who's he working for?

keep things as they are and let the interested buyer put an offer of €10,000 less than your current asking price. Then consider your options. nothing stopping the person putting in a lower bid. It seems crazy the EA is asking you to drop price before someone even bids. it dosen't make sense at all.
 
Re: Estatge Agent - who's he working for?

ted said:
I'm willing to drop by 10,000 but feel if I drop by ten before an offer is made then I'll be dropping by 20,000.
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It depends on the asking price for the house. The important part is the % reduction. 10,000 may be bugger all. Certainly in the current market I'd only be offering circa 90% of the asking price.

I would imagine the reduction is simply to entice people to view and to make offers. You really need 2 or more people bidding against each other to get the price up.

Selling the house should be regarded and as a business transaction and not in any way personal. I'm noticing a fare bit if indignation in posts over dropping the price.

I think the EA is best positioned to know what is happening in the market. His suggestion really should carry far more weight than mine or other's replies on this board.

Good luck.
 
Re: Estatge Agent - who's he working for?

It's priced at 230K about 20k less than simlar homes in the same estate.
 
Re: Estatge Agent - who's he working for?

IMO EA are there to sell your house for as much as possible, end of.
The more they get for the house the more you make the more they make.
They are not interested in you beyond that.
To that end their vested interest in not conflicting with yours.

It doesn't suit the vendor or the EA for the property to sit for months unsold. If you will not go below a certain limit then you tell them and they will not accept offers under that limit.
If it is your goal is to sell asap then they will presumably start to advise you to drop your asking price if you are not getting results fast enough.

I don't see the problem here! Is the EA not in effect asking you which way you want to go, Max price or quick sale?

PS I'm not an EA, I don't know any EAs and I have no particular love of hate for them. They are what they are. Properrty pimps.
 
Re: Estatge Agent - who's he working for?

ted said:
It's priced at 230K about 20k less than simlar homes in the same estate.
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OK. So I can read between the lines and work out a few things here.
  • The house is outside Dublin.
  • It's approx 10% cheaper than other houses. That's good.
  • There are other houses for sale in the same estate. That's bad as you're all competing for the same buyer(s).
  • It's well below the €317k threshold whereby First Time Buyers would pay stamp duty so the stamp duty change for FTB's is irrelevant here.
As I said previously you need a strategy. Ask yourself all these questions. How long have you been trying to sell for? Have any other houses in your estate sold recently (sold not just sale agreed)? Are there many houses for sale in your estate? Are you getting viewings? How long will you wait for an offer before dropping the house? Do you absolutely have to sell at the moment? What's the min price you will accept?

Talk to your EA. Try talking to other EA's to get a feel for the local market.
 
Re: Estatge Agent - who's he working for?

The two viewers who were interested were not FTB so there will be stamp duty of 4% for them. Our bottom line is 210,000. It's on the market since Easter but nothing seemed to be selling so we wouldn't have felt that the asking price was the main problem. Now not so sure. 4 others for sale
in an estate of 100 houses ranging from 225k to 270k depending on whether garage is converted and how the upstairs dormer is laid out i.e. no access, one large room or 2 beds and a bathroom. Got a quote for 10,000 to convert our single room upstairs into 2 beds and a bathroom - converting the garage about another 5k so I would have thought we were well priced. Two similar properties are 250k asking with same layout as ours admittedley nicer lawn but not much else.
 
Theres no plans to change stamp duty for second time buyers & there could well be another interest rise at the end of the year/start of next year. Keep an eye on the prices of the houses in one area, if one drops its price to sell the rest will follow then you'll end up havin a reduction war with other sellers.
It might be aswell to cut your price & sell asap, rather then havin it lyin empty & you still paying the mortgage.
If you want a more bearish view on the market go to www.thepropertypin.com or www.irishpropertywatch.com (this one has been recording price drops for the last few months, v interesting reading)
 
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