You’ve seen them, the websites that promise to connect sellers to the “best performing agents” in your suburb.
But do they?!
I think the majority of prospective sellers don’t realise that often these websites aren’t genuine comparison sites at all, but a software program that simply spits out names with little or no due diligence as to who really is the “best” agent in a suburb. And what does that mean anyway?!
Recently, I came across an instance where a comparison site recommended an agent who had only sold 1 property in that suburb in the last 12 months, and only 8 properties in total for the year – hardly what I would characterise as one of the “best” local agents. And it seems that often the “best” agents in a suburb, the ones that consistently sell and achieve the best area prices, have the lowest average days on market, have a database of hot buyers and know the suburb like the back of their hand, are often omitted from the list of recommended agents because they don’t heavily discount their selling fees (they don’t need to!) nor agree to the 20% referral fees these websites demand.
So next time you’re thinking about selling, remember that in using these websites you’re unlikely to be given the details of the genuinely best performing agents in the area, but those of agents that are desperate for your business and happy to slash their selling fees plus pay an additional referral fee to get it. Does that sound like the type of agent with the skills and expertise to get you the best possible price and outcome in the current market?
To find out more about these websites, check out this recent article on Domain: Australian house sellers and hunters warned about comparison websites and if you’re unsure which agents are active and successful in your area, try using impartial websites like reiwa.com’s AgentFinder (don’t forget to check out an Agent’s average days on market) or ratemyagent.com.au.
