Aussies are opting to sell their homes themselves in a bid to avoid paying increasingly costly real estate agent fees and commissions.
Barry Johnston, aged in his 60s, is among the thousands of Australians who have decided to do away with real estate agents and instead sell their homes privately.
Mr Johnston initially engaged with a real estate agent who told him to list his four-bedroom Logan Village, Queensland home at about $1.25million.
Having lived in the area for 14 years, he believed his property could fetch $1.42million and decided to privately list it at that value.
Within five days, he has secured a ‘firm offer’ at his listing price and a further offer above asking.
‘The agents that have been through here have really undervalued our place, they just wanted to make a quick turnover,’ he told Daily Mail Australia.
He photographed the property himself and engaged with a third-party website that allowed him to advertise his home on real estate portals for a nominal fee.
In all, he estimated the process cost him no more than $2,000 – less than the fee an agent had quoted him for professional photography alone.
Barry Johnston (left) decided to sell his home privately to avoid paying a heft commission
Mr Johnston received a ‘firm offer’ at his asking price within five days of listing
He said it was ‘a lot of work’, but said much of it – including readying the property for sale – would have been necessary even with an agent.
He expected selling privately will end up saving him about $30,000 in commission and adding up to $150,000 to his closing price.
‘In today’s economy, that’s nothing to be sneezed at,’ he said.
For Mr Johnston, the question was as simple as: ‘Can I justify paying someone so much for something I could do myself?’
‘There’s just nothing that the real estate agent can do that I can’t do, that’s basically the crux of it.’
Real estate expert Neil Jenman told Daily Mail Australia most homeowners could secure as good or better results than most agents with ‘a few hours research’.
‘Australian home sellers are bluffed, manipulated, misinformed and terrified into believing they have to use a real estate agent to sell their home,’ he said.
He claimed Australia’s rates of private home sales were among the lowest in the world, while the costs of advertising are the highest of anywhere in the world.
‘Most agents don’t do anything the sellers couldn’t do themselves,’ he said.
Homeowners are using third parties to list their home on sites like realestate.com.au
For a flat fee, however, homeowners can pay to advertise on third party sites who, as registered agencies, are allowed to list the ads on property portals like realestate.com.au and Domain.
Colin Sacks, who runs one such third party site, ForSaleByOwner.com.au, told Daily Mail Australia said sale enquiries had grown 25 per cent in the past 18 months.
‘The number of enquiries I get every day for people who are thinking about this, it’s just growing more and more,’ he said.
‘There’s no question… it’s just getting busier and busier.’
Michael Fotheringham, managing director at Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute agreed third party sites appeared to have increased the rate of private sales.
‘It’s a minority of sales overall, but there is a strong undercurrent of people who are making a choice not to go through agents and do it themselves,’ he said.
He said buyers could stand to gain just as much as earners from the shift towards private sales.
‘There a three parties involved in a property transfer: the buyer, the seller and the middle man. When you cut out the middle man, there can be a lot of savings.’
Real Estate Institute of Australia president Leanne Pilkington (pictured) said real estate mistakes can be costly
That said, selling privately won’t appeal to homeowners of all kinds.
Joanne White recently tried unsuccessfully to sell her commercial property in Stawell, north-west of Melbourne, before engaging a real estate agent.
She told Daily Mail Australia selling privately is difficult where ‘unique’ properties like her own – a converted former residence – are involved.
‘I think my biggest issue is, basically, I have a unique property that really, there’s not anything else like it in the whole of Australia,’ she said.
Despite the challenges, Ms White said she would consider selling privately again with a less challenging property.
President of the Real Estate Institute of Australia Leanne Pilkington said the work of agents extends well beyond arranging a sale.
‘Selling a property is not just about listing it online – it involves legal compliance, understanding market conditions, negotiating with buyers and stakeholders, and managing contracts,’ Ms Pilkington told Daily Mail Australia.
‘Going private may seem appealing, but it can lead to costly mistakes or delays if the process isn’t handled correctly according to legal requirements.’
