Agents Conspire With Sellers To Inflate Prices
No game is short of its share of villains and the great game called the property market also has its fair share of real estate agents who ply their trade dubiously. In an article for the website Smart Property Investment, Stefanie Garber talks about how they conspire along with the sellers to inflate prices of the properties.
Private Treaty System
Garber goes on to assert that the trend is more noticeable in competitive suburbs where lining up one potential buyer against another can be a smart way of hiking the property sticker. In fact, the opacity of the Private Treaty System has long been a cause of debate; what with scares like Gazumping always looming large on a prospective buyer.
Agents conspire with sellers
It all begins, argues Garber, with the agent working in sync with the seller to put up a very attractive purchasing price for buyers. Buyers are always excited by prices quoted below the market value. Just as soon as they are convinced that the purchase is a “bargain price” one, enter multiple buyers into the equation.
A lot of these buyers may just be conjured up by a hyper-imaginative seller (agent). Some of them may be people paid to play their part in the bluff-game. All for the cause of inflating the initial price by many notches; buyers do not have any clue whether what’s going on is a game of deceit or a true trend.
Auctions are more transparent
Auctions, feels Garber, is a fairer solution than the Private Treaty System; given that the offers are made in presence of a pool of buyers.
You can read the original article here.
Reputed buyer’s agents your best bet
No profession is short of its given quota of “Black Sheep” but they in no way nullify the presence of some really worthy real estate agents; those who ply their profession with utmost integrity and deftness. I completely understand the problem that Garber has discussed. Recently, a lady (who later became a very affectionate client) had been offered a price and she merrily agreed to it.
The seller gave his verbal commitment only to turn volte-face at the time of signing the contract. He had obviously found a more lucrative deal (Gazumping). Not only was it emotionally disappointing for the lady, she also lost some money in relevant pre-purchase fees.
Add to this various issues which might include, but are not restricted to, the Sunset Clause, faulty comparable sales figures, and dubious inspection reports.
Keeping these issues in mind, it is only reasonable to protect your interest by the right selection of buyer’s agent. If you are looking to buy property in Sydney’s Eastern suburbs, you can allow me to take up the matters for you. Always glad to help!
