Buyers invariably the winners from private sales

10 Mar 2015| Posted by: Geoff Baldwin

A phone survey of 31 buyers who had purchased private sales over the past 12 months provided some interesting facts and highlighted the overall expectation is that savings are definitely to be made but unfortunately not by the seller, according to CPREA (Certified Practising Real Estate Agents) Chairman, Geoff Baldwin. “In all but two cases the buyers considered that they purchased their property more cheaply because there was no agent involved”, he said. “When asked if they took into account the fact that the seller wasn't paying an agent's fee, every buyer surveyed said yes and that they expected to and in most cases did negotiate this amount and more off the price of the property. “Several of these buyers even stated that the seller willingly offered up that they would look at a lower price because they weren't paying an agent. “Most people said that although they felt less comfortable dealing directly with the seller it was easier to negotiate their offered price without an agent being involved. “The average reduction from the private seller's asking price and the price paid was 8.7% which is a significantly larger discount than the market average of just under 5% over the same period. “Several people said that they actually targeted private sales because they knew they would buy more cheaply if they didn't have to negotiate through a professional agent and in a couple of instances boasted that they had saved more $60,000 by buying privately. “It does make sense that a buyer will expect to get a better deal when the seller is not paying an agent's commission and what has become very obvious out of this survey is that it is buyers who are benefiting from no agent being involved, not the private sellers. “Of course it is critically important that a highly skilled and resourced agent is selected, one who can negotiate his/her fee plus more, but sellers who expect to save money by doing the job themselves are more often achieving the exact opposite to the delight of their buyers”, Mr Baldwin said.