Selling a Property - Real Estate Agent “Advertisement” Fees WTF?!

SpIcYChIcKeNCuRrY on 05/08/2024 - 07:01

Hi boys and girls,

Looking into selling my property (2BR, 1x toilet, 1x car park) which is an apartment in eastern suburbs of Melbourne.

Rang up several agents to enquire about commission and advert fees. I nearly fell out of my chair when I was told $5800 from not just one but several of these agents.

I asked why is it so damn expensive. I’m not running a tv ad campaign. No one page spread I a. Newspaper.

I was told:

  1. The website changes this amount.
  2. Includes photography
  3. Signage
  4. A floor plan is drawn up etc.

Surely this is not worth $5800?!!!

And does anyone know of an alternative that doesn’t cost as much (no I don’t want to manage this myself)?

Home & Garden

Comments

            • gromit on 05/08/2024 - 16:11
              -2

              @SkMed: when selling a house I don't base it on what is "fair", I base it on the maximum return I can get. To do otherwise is to basically give money away. My buyer actually ended up being someone that didn't look at my house and would not have looked at it except the RE pointed them to while inspecting a different set of properties, They also ended up bidding well over the second highest bidder.

              • SkMed on 07/08/2024 - 07:57
                -1

                @gromit: Sounds like you just lucked out and got a rich and dumb or lazy buyer I guess?

                Personally I have zero interest in buying or selling at auction. I guess if you're going to auction then there is probably benefits in using a real estate… but I find this method of selling unethical and I personally believe auctions should be outlawed or at least HEAVILY overhauled, audited, regulated and RE's held accountable and fined for all the crooked shit they pull around auctions.

                Auctions are part of the housing affordability problems and exponentially artificially inflate the value of homes. I've seen time and time again the crooked ways real estates lie at auctions and try squeeze every dollar out of buyers, nothing but criminals and most people know it.

                • gromit on 07/08/2024 - 08:31

                  @SkMed: So what you are really saying is if all you want is an average market price then a RE is unnecessary, completely agree. Incidentally mine was not an auction, it was an "offers over", All up RE got me 105k more than I would have if I had gone for what the current market said it was worth and what I was happy with.

                  I have no real problem with Auctions or how Auctioneers conduct auctions (note it is not usually a RE running an auction it is a 3rd party to the RE). The problem with auctions is generally people that don't educate themselves with the process and don't set themselves hard limits on bidding. All the problems with Auctions are with the buyers not the people selling. RE's work for the seller not the buyer, their job is literally to wring everything they can get out of buyers, it is why you hire them.

                  • foursaken on 07/08/2024 - 10:20
                    +1

                    @gromit: I agree with every word you've said. It's plainly obvious that the majority of people here have no clue what an agent does. Yes, there are things you can do yourself, but the screwing around with cleaners, trades and professionals alone that I didn't have to do was worth my agents fees. And that's not even considering what he did to deal with my ex wife, negotiate with buyers, etc. etc.

                    You want to do this yourself? Great! But if you think all RE agents are crap, the problem is you.

                  • SkMed on 08/08/2024 - 11:11
                    -1

                    @gromit: I guess so, to me an average market price = fair market price.

                    So you're saying someone paid $105k over your asking/set price for no particular reason and didn't have the ability to find your property themselves even though it was advertised on Doimain/RE? I feel like if anything you got very lucky and I highly doubt your scenario is at all common and likely to be repeated.

                    I'd be very surprised if this buyer didn't eventually come knocking without the RE referring them if the property meets their needs. Even on the rare occasion an agent has mentioned another similar property when inspecting another I've either already seen it, already planning to see it or dismissed it as it doesn't meet my needs and I'm sure 99.9 percent of buyers are the same.

                    I'd say it's likely your real estate agent simply valued and set the price lower than market value so when a higher offer comes through you feel like they actually did something.

                    Re auctions, its not the way auctioneers conduct themselves at the auction that I have an issue with, its the tactics RE employ before and after the auction usually.

                    Surely you've seen auctions of extremely undervalued properties which go for well above (20%+) the high end at auction due to obvious undervaluation. Last one I went to was waaay undervalued at 500-550k and of course it sold for about 900k. Or they jack up the price range 100k or so the day before the auction starts, or they advertise it low online to get you to inspect but on the paperwork it has a higher asking range listed, or the auction goes past the low end, but not above the high end and they pass it in as they want more (above the top end). It's illegal to false bid, so it should be illegal to not accept the bid if its within the advertised price range. One or more of these scenarios happen at 90 percent of the auctions I have been to over the past 2 years, the entire Auctioneering industry needs to be overhauled and regulated heavily.

                    • SkMed on 09/08/2024 - 16:41
                      -1

                      @SkMed: Lol, speaking of, I just now got a notification on a property I was watching which went to auction on the weekend.

                      Advertised 650-700k.
                      Highest bid was about 690k.
                      Just went up for direct private sale at $705k.

                      Obviously the RE set the range too much lower than the seller was willing to accept to bring in bidders as usual. The bidding range is an absolute joke and the RE/seller should have to be held accountable if the final bid if it falls within the advertised range.

      • SkMed on 05/08/2024 - 15:45
        +2

        I'd also add mortgage brokers to the list of being irrelevant too. I got one for said unit and they absolutely screwed the entire thing up, thankfully I'd gotten pre-approval from my bank myself already so just ditched them and did that myself too. It's all MUCH easier and straightforward than most people seem to realise.

        • gromit on 05/08/2024 - 16:01

          for reference I agree with mortgage brokers and travel agents. Property really isn't quite as easy as those though if you are expecting to get the best price.

        • star-ggg on 06/08/2024 - 13:09
          +1

          RE having secret "lists of potential buyers" and mortgage brokers having secret "mates rates" is all lies. Nowadays everything is available online and that's where people to get information.

    • onetwothreefour on 05/08/2024 - 15:32
      +1

      Is this still available?

    • garetz on 05/08/2024 - 15:50

      True in a sellers market, however in a buyers market not so much.

  • souljah on 05/08/2024 - 15:40

    Selling property is the transaction equivalent of having a wedding.

    Everyone seems to jack up the prices to get their slice.

    • Hangryuman on 06/08/2024 - 17:25

      'Selling property is the transaction equivalent of having a wedding. Everyone seems to jack up the prices to get their slice.'

      LOL - are you describing the skin care and beauty regime of females wanting to bag a man ?

      'ten or fifteen years later, she puts on ten or fifteen pounds, and sex becomes kinda disgusting' - Cheech & Chong

  • kaleidoscope on 05/08/2024 - 15:50
    -1

    That’s a very cheap quote lol… anyway you can either diy sell or look into it this way. Tell your agent that X is the min amount of money you want after all the fees and commissions paid off. If they say can be done why not let them do their job and save yourself the hassle?

  • ripesashimi on 05/08/2024 - 16:28

    why dont you diy sell

  • Borat on 05/08/2024 - 16:33
    +7

    I sold my apartment private, RE agents seen the listing & contacted me trying to get the listing, they were offering reductions on advertising, commissions etc.
    2x low IQ RE agents undervalued it possibly hoping for a quick easy sale.
    Then I wrote private sale only, RE agents do not contact me in the listings on Domain and RE.com
    I didn't engage any agents and sold the unit private for $80,000 above the agents so called professional valuations.
    Cost me $400.to sell and done 2x opens.
    Conveyancers do contracts and bypassing the agents made it easier for me, less people involved, less chance of human error.

  • kindra on 05/08/2024 - 16:37
    -2

    Sounds about right.

    1-2% commission on sale for REA + advertising fees.

    Remember they have to give up their Saturdays for open inspections and filter out the low ballerers.

    • Kazzilla on 05/08/2024 - 17:39
      +4

      they have to give up their Saturdays

      Oh, won't somebody please think of those poor real estate agents!

  • fullmetal on 05/08/2024 - 17:05

    the signage is to advertise their brand more than your house. Skip the signage. Just buy a for sale sign and stick it infront of your yard. If you haven't made much changes use the old sale advertisement flooring plan, ask them to take that off too.

  • AndyC1 on 05/08/2024 - 18:21

    Be careful with what you agree to when signing any real estate agent contract as they may include stuff that they will include in the invoice, but never do. I had a $500 drone hire for a flyover that was never done. Asked was it ever done and got the answer NO, so they asked why it was included and got a sorry we made a mistake… Right Ned Kelly…

  • Kmartsecurityguard on 05/08/2024 - 19:48
    +4

    With the technology we have these days so easy to sell your own home, TikTok and instagram alone would garner a few leads, you could pay someone on Fiver $20 to do your brochures and design your entire marketing campaign probably a decent one as well for a couple hundred more and buy the space on realestate websites and throw up on Facebook.

    Homes ALWAYS sell themselves, the realestate agent just buys the ad copy with your money, at best they have a Rolodex with potential buyers they’ve pissed off with their email, mail and text marketing. Take it from me, if a realestate agent knocks on my door or calls me/texts me they go in the spam and blocked lists on my phone. If I’m buying I use a prepaid SIM card same as selling. Stuff paying an agent 20k+ to do nothing. No one can sell their home better than the person that’s lived in it.

  • FlyingMiffy on 05/08/2024 - 21:32

    Thats the going rate. Most goes to the online realestate websites/apps and the photography/printing. The agents dont make much from advertising, its the commission that they live off.

    • CocaKoala on 06/08/2024 - 16:02

      The agents dont make much from advertising, its the commission that they live off.

      Those poor things.

  • ssfps on 05/08/2024 - 23:13
    +1

    Property is still so hot you'd have to be a chump to use an agent - or your time is so valuable saving $20k-$40k isn't worth a week or two of work.

    There are a bunch of companies that assist you in selling, do the listing, etc, which start just under $1k when i last looked.
    You'll want a settlement agent, so lets ballpark another $2k.
    If you want to go all out with a professional photographer w/ a drone, or w/e, add another couple grand.

    The only reason to use an agent is when you're selling into a buyers market, right now there are hoards of people scouring domain.com and realestate.com and agent's phones are ringing non-stop with serious buyers that want to throw cash at the vendors.
    I guess the other reason is if you're so attached to your property you can't emotionally regulate when faced with offers lower than what's in your head.

  • Aerith-Waifu on 06/08/2024 - 01:26

    Wait? This is just marketing fees? Before commissions? If so how much are the commissions?

  • Grunntt on 06/08/2024 - 08:54
    +2

    When I was looking at selling the agents all told me they had a list of potential buyers looking for my exact style property.
    All of their previous buyers who didn't manage to buy at the last few auctions apparently

    When I told them I would consider using them for my sale, but without paying them for advertising (seeing as they had so many ready to buy in my desired price range), only one of them would even discuss that as an option.

    • Windows98 on 07/08/2024 - 18:23

      They sell more than houses. They have to sell themselves more than anything.

      That's why their dumb faces are on buses and ads. They literally have nothing else to offer.

  • ozbargainoid on 06/08/2024 - 09:26

    I put a clause in the Contract 'the property is sold as is, where is, with all faults'.
    I choose about 5 or 6 agents to do a property appraisal, and I tell them I will invite 2 or 3 back to bid for the job. This removes the high ballers and the low ballers.
    I also tell the short listed agents I want a sale with no fancy fees, add ons etc.
    The agent is to submit a single total cost to sell the property.
    Then I let them go at it, if any complain they get dismissed.
    I also short time the contract duration to about 2 months, with no ongoing lag commissions.

  • foursaken on 06/08/2024 - 09:36

    You're going to pay between 1.5% and 3.5% using licenced real estate. End of story.

    As perhaps the largest financial transactions of your life, I would have thought it massively short sighted to do a hacky job on selling a house and lose even $10k from a buyer. But you do you.

    • Grunntt on 06/08/2024 - 21:33
      +1

      You're going to pay between 1.5% and 3.5% using licenced real estate. End of story.
      …I would have thought it massively short sighted to do a hacky job on selling a house and lose even $10k from a buyer

      Most of the sales I have seen recently are way north of $1million.

      1.5% - 3.5% works out to at least $15,000 - $35,000. If you do a hacky job and end up losing even $10,000 looks to me like you come out ahead.

  • chillwok on 06/08/2024 - 10:08
    +4

    a friend of mine just listed their house on realdotcom for $300 through no agent/private sale company. they said contract from a lawyer cost $500.
    definitly avoid giving money to the vultures if you can.

    • Windows98 on 07/08/2024 - 18:22

      This is the way. Using an agent to sell a house is as dumb as using one to sell your car these days. With the internet and online help.

      Agents are afraid of people learning this and losing out on money

  • daleyboy79 on 06/08/2024 - 11:19
    +2

    FYI - Just recently had a valuation on my property in Outer Sydney Suburbia (was 1.3-1.4mil) agent said advertising fees would be $2500, of which most of that was for RE web listing (he reckons domains not worth it) and the rest was for photos (inc drone shots). He also reckons videos, 3d tours etc also not worth it. And after that comission was 1.5%. Also this was not some "dude" working out of the back of their car, its an established team with an actual office thats been in the area for well over 10yrs.

    • star-ggg on 06/08/2024 - 13:12
      +1

      As a buyer, when did you ever care about what type of agent you were dealing with? I ask them what price the seller wants, I give them a price I want to buy at and they start playing the game of "can you offer more cause someone else did".

  • ribze1 on 06/08/2024 - 12:45

    It makes sense to have these fixed costs as if the property doesn't sell then there's no commission, not to mention domain and realestate.com would be charging hundreds for the ads to be listed.

  • cordsplace on 06/08/2024 - 12:59

    I just listed and sold a 4 X 2 apartment in the Perth suburb of Joondalup and my "marketing" costs were just over 2k for the same services as yours. I'm not in Melbourne but those costs seem excessive. Commission was 2%. Great sales agent. Got $50k more than I thought I would get even in a hot market but still an amazing bargain for Eastern States buyers. I still made sure the apartment was sold to a local family which wasn't easy but I'm glad it went that way.

    • serpserpserp on 06/08/2024 - 16:13
      +1

      I still made sure the apartment was sold to a local family which wasn't easy but I'm glad it went that way.

      If it wasn't an auction that should be very easy.

      If it was an auction you have zero control.

  • Roe Jogan on 06/08/2024 - 13:14

    isn't it based on percentage of sale price? i mean thats what i know about sydney its like from 1.5 too 2 percent which is absurd specially if we are talknig abut the average house price in syd 1.3 1.4m thats a nice hefty bit of coin for listing so many houses, what about fixed price agent this one 8.5k seems more reasonable https://www.sello.com.au/ with the its like third the price of a traditional blood sucking agent

  • skillet on 06/08/2024 - 13:36
    +2

    So who do you think pays for their euro sports car bank lease?

  • stingy-oz on 06/08/2024 - 14:09

    You can check this one out https://home.wavie.com.au/

    AI based sells, you put in your side of the effort like OPI.
    Everything included would still be under 10K (marketing, conveyancing, paperwork, nego, photography etc)

  • sandman20104159 on 06/08/2024 - 15:53

    signage… that they leave up for a month after its been sold.

  • serpserpserp on 06/08/2024 - 16:11

    How much are you selling your place for OP 500K? probably doesn't seem like a lot if you think about the transaction size.

    Wondering what you think the should charge? I'm thinking probably 1-2% commission on price of sale?

  • mavis30551 on 06/08/2024 - 16:27

    I feel your pain. I said id go with a mate thinking hed do me a good deal and hes charging me 3%

    When i was randomly enquiring while thinking about selling I wanted to know the going rate and put my number down for some enquiries and had people chasing me. they said its usually its like 2%. Felt obligated to stay as hes a good friend. But thats thousands of dollars difference

    Wish I had had a go crack selling myself first.

  • TheDukeOfNukem on 06/08/2024 - 16:36

    Signage

    This is such a recurring rant for me when in the car. I am so (profanity) sick of driving past signs that just blanket say "for sale" or "auction", etc. with no information. Slap the goddamn address and intended price on there at the VERY least. When we were checking out a few areas to buy and, you know, didn't know ANY of the street names because we don't live in town, it would have been super appreciated to not have to go on goddamn Google Maps street view to find the number of the house and the street.

    Further, in your case, as an apartment, I'd wager they're not even putting up a sign at all. Overpriced assholes. Realtors and lawyers often get lumped in together as the biggest rip off POS's out there, but honestly, it's unfair. A lawyer at least studies for years and is more often than not needed in a serious situation, almost anyone can sell a house. The amount of leg and paperwork that's handled by a conveyancer is astounding, realtors really do sod all nine times out of ten.

    But anyway, the signage man, that shit really grinds my gears.

    Edit: That auction one in particular down the road has been up for nearly a month and has no date written on it even, absolute cheapskatery to not even bother getting signs made up, reusing the same signs is bullshit. You wanna charge me for the sign, I'll keep it and chop it up for fire wood.

  • NopeNopeNope on 06/08/2024 - 17:12

    The industry has become more professional and less cottage industry, and along the way the agents have more and more outsourced their work.

    In the 90s pre internet a listing was, 1 photos sometimes self taken for the front of the shop, a black and white photocopy pamphlet with a couple more shots if you were lucky, a floor plan if you felt really really fancy, and a blurb for the sunday paper. I remember my mum selling a place and this was all done by one person.

    Realestate.com.au and Domain.com.au are HUGE in their respective markets and command the price, basic listing is actually quite cheap but if you are in a big suburb with lots of results you need premium advertising to be up the listing which runs into thousands.
    Photography is now handled by a professional who will do some basic styling for the shot and then clean up everything in photoshop.
    Blurb is now written by a copy writer.
    Floor plan is done by a freelancer.
    Quality pamphlets are now more likely to be a 4 page (A3 double sided folded into booklet).

    From experience (sold about 20 houses) i have found they negotiate heavily, i have always picked the one i felt had the best opportunity to sell for the highest price then managed to get the commission structure i wanted. I have also sold 3 places now without an agent and am confident i achieved a solid price for the house in its market, we listed on rea, printed proper pamphlets, made websites, had pro photographers, etc… majority of people assumed i was an agent and literally zero showed any hesitation once realizing i wasn't.

  • twotwotwo on 06/08/2024 - 19:47

    Sounds about right. Sold a house and paid about 3k for it. Agent also charged 2.2% of sale price.

  • Trying2SaveABuck on 06/08/2024 - 21:12

    Most of those costs are Realestate.com.au they essentially are the advertising market for houses in Australia they can charge what they like

    Domain.com.au is the 2nd biggest player it gets like 1/6th of traffic

    The sign infront is mostly pointless in modern day property

  • liongalahad on 06/08/2024 - 23:15
    +2

    use PropertyNow - you sell your own property and it gets listed on realestate.com.au , they provide with brochures and signs, they help with the paperwork and it costs a fraction compared to an actual agent; on their website they say they have a fixed fee of $794 (plus direct expenses, such as the ad, the brochures printing etc), although Im not 100% sure it's up to date… anyway, you get the idea.

    Also, customers' review are overwhelmingly positive

    • cordsplace on 07/08/2024 - 12:51

      I've used Property Now for leasing out properties and it's been great. We use an agent for selling. The thought of home opens and negotiation is too daunting and the agent we use is a gun and charges 2% which we are happy with. He knows the market and will get the best deal.

  • dclee12 on 07/08/2024 - 02:42

    About 15 years ago my dad downgraded and sold his house on the northside. Real estate agent was slick and a real “friend to the elderly”, made himself known at all the seniors functions etc.

    He said all the advertising was better than cost as he got special deals. Dad didn’t trust him so he rang the printer number on the back of the deluxe for sale sign… the agent was more than doubling the price.
    POS tried to act outraged at the accusation when we called him on it, came out with a stream of bullshit , but we eventually got the money back. and went with someone else.

    So yeah, i dont know how legal it is , but they definitely profit from advertising. You could probably deal direct with a photographer and printer to save a lot.

  • SirLaughsAlot on 07/08/2024 - 09:48

    More power to you mate.
    I wish more people have such thoughts and make an effort in changing the exorbitant and blatant charges.

    I would suggest use of Facebook Marketplace or any such other social sites.

    Also, If you can post it directly on Facebook property and community groups.

  • A-H on 07/08/2024 - 13:43

    For what it's worth, I just sold through an agent and spent $3,200 for advertising.

    Realestate.com have different pricing tiers. The most expensive always puts you towards the top of the list on the first page of search results. If there are not many properties selling in your area with the same bedrooms, bathrooms etc, you may still list on the first page without paying premium.

    Also we didn't bother with flashy signage - just a QR code rather than all the photos. If you think you've got a good property that will sell relatively easily, the QR code is all you need. I was against this at first but was proven wrong - we still had hundreds of people showing up.

  • shangoz on 07/08/2024 - 17:23

    most or the two bedroom sold more than 600k anyway, so 5k8 is under 1%, the agent need to prepare legal document and time for open house and pay for the car petrol etc, so it's a reasonable charge, even you do it yourself you still need to do a lot of work, all depend on your own mind, professional work, or, your own time and spend as little as possible.

  • Ooops on 07/08/2024 - 17:30

    DIY! Easy

  • Windows98 on 07/08/2024 - 18:16

    Sell it yourself. What do you need them for?

    Houses sell themselves. Professional photos do little to increase the price these days as it's all about location, number of rooms and how it looks when people see it in person. Everyone knows that the fisheye, hdr, Photoshopped photos are a fake attempt at making the house looks better than it is, so they judge it in person.
    The sign out the front is an old tool used when the internet wasn't a thing. Useless.

    List the house yourself on realesate.com and handle the enquiries in your own time.

    Get a conveyancer/lawyer to handle the legal documents and transfering of money. Which is the main part of transferring a house and the agents don't even do that.

    Save yourself thousands and get the satisfaction of not paying off a RE agent for doing sweet shit all but still taking their ridiculous cut.

  • ddilrat on 10/08/2024 - 08:13

    We paid 2k about a year ago. See pic.

    https://imgur.com/a/7w2rMuL

  • Snax85 on 20/11/2024 - 23:52

    $5800 sounds on the higher side for an apartment sale. Smaller agencies or online platforms might offer more affordable packages without compromising on quality. Definitely worth researching!

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