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Post by Carol on Jul 8, 2008 15:17:59 GMT 1
its a common misperception that agents in Croatia set the prices. we do not. The sellers set the asking prices and the buyers set the transaction prices. We agents form our own opinions about the prices and I for one would happily value a property and provide comparatives and justifications (you know this is true because look how much i write on this board!!!), However sellers don't want to hear it, especially if my valuation is lower than the amount they want. We reject some, accept others that we don't necessarily agree with and encourage the buyers to let us point them at the ones which best meet their needs, value for money included as a criteria. However, we cannot force prices down or make buyers accept our guidance. This is all common sense and there is nothing in what i am saying here which any company won't do. Estate agency isn't black magic - just common sense.
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zoran
Junior Member
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Post by zoran on Jul 9, 2008 9:18:21 GMT 1
I dont have any problems with sellers beacuse I can see after 5 minutes who they are and I check them through other people. I have more problem with Croatians clients becuase they just want information and then they are looking for property without me so I decide just to give them a basic ones.
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zoran
Junior Member
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Post by zoran on Jul 9, 2008 9:34:29 GMT 1
REALLY?! So you never were asked to sell a property where you knew there was no hope but the seller would turn against you and cause you trouble unless you at least pretended to go along with it? Or you've never taken anything on where the seller is being greedy but at least it helps demonstrate what a bargain the place next door is? So you are saying that somebody force you to sell their property and if you dont he will cause you trouble. I dont belive this nobody can force me to do that I am selling what I think I can sell.
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Post by Carol on Jul 9, 2008 9:43:56 GMT 1
maybe it is easiest to explain by example... a business contact of ours who think we run a good business recommended us to his brother in law who wants to sell. The brother in law is asking way too much. We try to tell him about how the market is and what transaction prices are and he gets defensive. So either we back down and do what he wants (knowing full well that it will never sell until the price becomes more realistic) or we tell him no and he runs back and complains to our business contact who is embarrassed and definitely won't put himself in such an awkward position again. The only problem is that other sellers try to use the website to justify their prices, so we try to advertise the price as POA if we can get away with it.
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zoran
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Post by zoran on Jul 9, 2008 10:54:53 GMT 1
The problem is that your clients may think that you raise that price and than damage will be even more,dont you think?
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Post by Carol on Jul 9, 2008 11:12:55 GMT 1
not if i advertise it as POA (price on application). That way anyone who is interested has to phone or email us to find out the price.
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zoran
Junior Member
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Post by zoran on Jul 9, 2008 11:25:30 GMT 1
Trust me that POA means the price is not reasonable.
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Post by Carol on Jul 9, 2008 11:49:21 GMT 1
isn't that what i just said too?
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Post by darcy on Jul 9, 2008 12:47:21 GMT 1
For me, real estate agents facilitate the market and, as such, should present to the buyers quality comparative information about the purchasing options. For the buyers, they should bet the best possible option in terms of price and time to close the deal.
If you, as the RE agents, advertise the properties that are far too expensive and keep it on your listing for too long, any buyer will get a feeling that "all other apples are probably rotten as well". I know there are some people coming on a holiday, falling in love with a place and then spending 300K, but how many such deals have you really seen?
POA does not mean it is too expensive, but probably an unwilling seller or indicates some movements on the market (mostly downwards). But, if buyer finds out any wrong information presented by the agent and latter discovers it following the inspection or during the purchase process, any sale is very unlikely.
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Post by Carol on Jul 9, 2008 13:07:46 GMT 1
POA means price on application. It means call me and i will tell you the price. There are various reasons why an agent might use it - sometimes sellers do not want their neighbours to see the price for instance. However, if agents use it to disguise greedy prices (as we do) then people will begin to interpret it as that. POA is not however a tool to conceal vital info from a buyer (it is not concealed because we will tell the buyer immediately they ask what the price is)
As to properties sticking on the market for years... it is true some do, but not because there is anything wrong with those properties necessarily. The market is thin and sometimes it takes a while to find a buyer even for a good property. I don't want to start quoting from my catalog but I could give you several examples of properties which are still for sale long after more expensive, less attractive ones have gone. The weird thing is a property can sit around for well over a year and then suddenly there will be two buyers fighting over it.
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Post by darcy on Jul 10, 2008 6:31:53 GMT 1
As to properties sticking on the market for years... it is true some do, but not because there is anything wrong with those properties necessarily. The market is thin and sometimes it takes a while to find a buyer even for a good property. I don't want to start quoting from my catalog but I could give you several examples of properties which are still for sale long after more expensive, less attractive ones have gone. The weird thing is a property can sit around for well over a year and then suddenly there will be two buyers fighting over it. Good, quality but unsold properties are the best indicator you should change your real estate agent who does not market your property well or you are doing something wrong. (There are sometimes so funny pictures, my close Croatian neighbour is selling a house with a photo of himself in a singlet, with not really tidy garden - who is the RE agent unable to make some good pictures and show to the seller what needs to be done.)
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Post by Carol on Jul 10, 2008 11:23:35 GMT 1
thanks for the vote of confidence darcy. two things though 1. There are often up to 10 or more RE agents selling each property 2. Its a little difficult to take a beautiful picture of a room which the owner has not bothered to tidy up before the photograph was taken. Similarly its hard to take a good outdoor shot if the street is very narrow.
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Post by darcy on Jul 10, 2008 13:59:37 GMT 1
Carol, I am sure you are good and successful agent, I really mean it (I do not want to say Croatia is lucky to have you, that might sound pathetic, but at least they should wave any visa extension fee for you). Property marketing is the responsibility of the agent. Do you believe me there is a photograph of a middle aged slightly overweighted bloke in a white singlet posing in front of his house on the real estate web site? Should I call the agent and ask is he maybe included in the price? Now imagine, I need to ask that very agent to take care of my sale and think what other stupidity they do in their day-to-day dealings with the customers....
There are good RE agents, no doubt, but there are so many idiots as well. We can only hope and wait for more professionals to come to Croatia, start opening their businesses and lifting professional standards. I personally know one thing - when I decide to sell my house, I would not employ Croatian RE agents unless they convince me in their exceptionally high professional standards.
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Post by ray51 on Jul 11, 2008 22:44:32 GMT 1
Nevertheless , for us who got used to real estate practices as in Canada , Oz , S. Africa , England , Emirates , BeNeLux : "POA" , sort of , indicates a waste of a phone call ? As in : if the thing's really for sale , why duck'n'dive & hide the price ? IMHO : A genuine , motivated and able , willing purchaser might see it as just another way , for the agent/s , to round up as many punters , as poss...
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Post by Carol on Jul 12, 2008 10:55:17 GMT 1
If it would round up many "punters" then I'd use it all the time. If anything it has the opposite effect!
I am not Croatian (as you may guess from my name!) and like some other agencies I do my best to bridge the gap between western expectations of how to interact with the Croatian real estate market and the Croatian sellers expectations of how it should work. believe me there are differences!
Some examples: - Sunday viewings - tidying up - viewing many properties before deciding - viewing the same property more than once before deciding - any old contract will do - giving vacant possession on the day the money is paid - and the real biggie ... negotiating on price!
Some things we can try to change or at least absorb the shock on each side but I think it is fair to ask international buyers to not expect the customs in the Croatian property market to resemble exactly the customs in their home country. Would you not agree?
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