Price on Application

"Price on Application" when selling a home, is really off putting. When I see this displayed on the internet I think one of two things. The first is that vendors are asking too much for the home and the second is that the agent won't answer my email or phone call. I would have to say that 5 out of 10 enquires of mine go unanswered.

My most recent example would be when I asked Fletchers- North Balwyn for a price on a home for sale recently but received no response. I guess the agent had enough "buyer interest".

I attended the April 10 auction and I must say there were at least 150 people present. About 7 to 10 people fought it out on the day. The auction seemed to drag on forever. I think that was due to the fact that the auctioneer was accepting small bids sometimes going as low as $50- $100.

Asking price for the Somervile Rd, Doncaster home was "price on application". But later enquiries revealed that asking price was 600,000- $660,000. The house was a 3 bedroom brick home with 2 bathrooms and 1 car garage.

I was speaking to a few people in the crowd and they too were saying that the agents/vendors did not quote correctly. Our circle of potential bidders were now having bets on how much over the quoted price the house would sell for. I thought the home would sell for $760,000, another said $720,000, another said $800,000 and lastly someone said $820,000. But we were all wrong.

Everybody agreed on one thing and that was, that they would have appreciated a more accurately priced range. Most were saying that they wouldn't have attended if they knew it would go for $200,000 over the quoted range.

The "Real Estate Guidelines for real estate salespeople - price advertising and underquoting" page 6 states that: "While a salesperson should use their expert knowledge of the market to assist the vendor to set a realistic price or range for the sale of their property, the vendor’s expectations should not influence the salesperson’s opinion of their estimated selling price. A salesperson must not overstate or understate an estimated selling price."

I totally agree with this statement. I just wish that it was considered and practiced more efficiently in the market.

Anyway the house sold for about $825,000.

Waiting For The Agent to Call Back

I went to an open house in Robinson Grove, Bulleen a few weeks ago. The property was beautifully presented. It had 3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom and parking. The agent rang after a week to see whether I was interested in the property. I told the agent that I was not interested in the property as it was too small. The other reason I didn't like the property was because it had a block of flats behind.

Now, I have tried to contact this same agent four times regarding a price for a different property. The first was by email. The second time I rang the property Managers mobile but a message kept on saying that the mobile had "restricted incoming calls". I then rang the office but the secretary from Fletchers-Balwyn North said that she did not know the price of the home and that she had the same information I had. The office referred me to another agents mobile but I had to leave a message. I rang Saturday April 3rd and left a message. It is now April 7th and I still haven't anything.

All I want is a sale price. There is no price advertised on the internet. If I was the vendor I would be a little disappointed. I feel like knocking on the owners door myself, saying "I've tried to contact your agent for a price on your home four times but have been unsuccessful"

Update:
As I wasn't getting any response from the agent I decided to attended open house in Bulleen. Conflicting price ranges were given by same office. One sales person said $700,000-$770,000 and the other said $700,000-$800,000.

May 1st auction at Barak St, Bulleen.
As I mentioned price quoted at inspection was $700K-$800K. The auctioneer opened the auction at $700,000. While seling, the agent mentioned that the house had reached reserve at $ 820,000 and was on the market. The house sold for $945,000.

Not Accepting Prior Offers

Last Saturday I attended an open house in Bulleen. There were people everywhere. It was like being amongst a swarm of bees. The house was about 45 years old. It had a versatile floor plan and would make a lovely family home.

Lots of those people were asking the agent whether the vendor would accept bids before auction.

The house was lovely, although it did get a little road noise due to freeway proximity.

The agent told a potential buyer that the vendor had rejected an offer ($820,000)prior to auction and that the house was going to auction. When one buyer asked him for a price he said $850,000 plus. When my partner asked for a price by email the agent said $900,000 plus due to buyer interest. When I phoned the agent he said $850,000 to $950,000.