buyer perceptions of real estate agents

©2016 RP Data Pty Ltd t/as CoreLogic Asia Pacific. All rights reserved. Confidential.

May 2016

Buyer Perceptions

of Real Estate

Agents

Kylie Davis

Head of Property Services

Marketing

©2016 RP Data Pty Ltd t/as CoreLogic Asia Pacific.

All rights reserved. Confidential.

2

10% of respondents in the

Roy Morgan Image of

Professions Survey

claim Real Estate

Agents are

trustworthy.

* Image of Professions 2016 based on general sample of

655 respondents

Is this guy the industry?



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So Let’s Get This Over With…

You want to know how much buyers hate you, don’t you?



SURPRISE!!!

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14% 14% OF BUYERS & SELLERS HAD

TRULY AWFUL EXPERIENCES

WITH REAL ESTATE AGENTS

Based on Poor or Disastrous experiences

buying or selling a home



But That Doesn’t Mean They Love You

5

14% 14% OF BUYERS RATED THEIR

BUYING EXPERIENCE AS

EXCELLENT

ONLY



Housekeeping: Who We Surveyed

546 buyers – 82% of whom who had successfully purchased

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Why You Should Care

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25% 25% OF BUYERS SAID THEY

WOULD DEFINITELY USE THE

AGENT THEY BOUGHT FROM

TO SELL THEIR HOME

ONLY



If You Sell 100 Properties a Year . . . Are you really okay with a 75% churn rate?

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What are you doing wrong?

Failing to see the value of Buyer Care

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68% 68% OF BUYERS SAID AGENTS HAD

LITTLE TO NO INTEREST IN

HELPING THEM FIND A

SUITABLE PROPERTY TO BUY



Why Open for Inspections are So Important Weekly auditions for agents

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The Power of Excellent Buyer Service How to stand out from the crowd

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Buyers are astonished

and grateful Buyers become

clients for life

Buyers refer you to

their friends and family

14% Experience excellence

25% Will definitely use you again

57% Will recommend you



But Buyers are Always Unhappy – Right?

12



What Agents Are Good At Product knowledge

13



Where do you need to improve?

‘Soft’ skills and service behaviour

14



Buyers Versus Vendors

Don’t be one thing to one but behave differently to the other

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What Buyers & Vendors Want

Surprisingly - the same thing

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COMMUNICATION

AND

ACCOUNTABILITY

A RELATIONSHIP, NOT

A TRANSACTION

A TRANSPARENT

PROCESS FROM END

TO END



The cynicism of those still looking The data suggests that they are jaded but you can win them over

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Successfully purchased Still looking



The Tricky Issue of Price

When you get price wrong, you waste time and erode trust

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9% 9% OF BUYERS SAID THE QUALITY

OF THE PRICE GUIDES THEY

RECEIVED WAS EXCELLENT



Buyers Are Better Researchers than Sellers

So they are increasingly catching you out

46% 46% OF BUYERS BOUGHT

OR ACCESSED A

PROPERTY REPORT

COMPARED TO 26%

OF VENDORS



The Issue of Honesty

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9% 9% OF BUYERS SAID THE

HONESTY AND

TRUSTWORTHINESS OF

AGENTS WAS EXCELLENT

Agents should be honest. While

they are acting for the vendor in

obtaining the best price, remember

that the purchaser will also need

the same service down the track

and this could be a great

partnership for future dealings.



Win Buyers Without Undermining Vendors

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Provide lists

of

comparable

sales rather

than price

guides to help

buyers make

informed

judgments

Be flexible on

viewing times

to

accommodate

genuine but

time

challenged

buyers

Respond

quickly to

inquiries and

requests for

further details

Know the

property

inside out

including

building

materials,

renovation

dates, strata

fees etc

Provide

Vendor

approved

quotes for

repair or

remediation

works



Would you tolerate it?

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If You Do Any of These Things – STOP NOW!

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Refuse

to

advertise

prices or

provide

suitable

price

guidance

Waste

buyers time

by sending

them to

blatantly

unsuitable

properties

Hiding

faults or

failing to

address

them with

vendors

Failing to

return calls

–

especially

during a

negotiation

Advertising

open home

inspections

when the

property

has a

committed

under offer

Poor post

sale

experience.

Making

buyers pick

up their own

keys



Wouldn’t You Like Clients for Life?

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What Agents Did Well

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Our agent was very supportive to

both us as buyers and the sellers.

He took a photo of us all together

and sent us a professional

document with the photos and

congratulations. It was a good

experience for both parties.

She kept me up to date

throughout the negotiation

and answered any

questions before and after

settlement

Our agent provided

information about the local

council, businesses, schools

and public transport.

To be totally honest, I was just

impressed with the service they

provided and the fact they got back

to me when I made initial contact

as so many agents didn’t.

Constant

communication and

wonderful negotiation

skills

Our agent gave us multiple

access times to review the

property and detailed

responses to questions.

Our agent was patient

with my lack of

knowledge and they

educated me about the

process

She knew the ages and the

schools of the kids in the street

went to which was personal and

allowed us to know the area was a

good fit for our family.

He had a good knowledge of

the neighbours, their names

and jobs and made us feel

really comfortable with the

neighbourhood.

Our agent was very

knowledgeable and honest

and always got back to me

when promised.



So what should you take away? Buyer-care is one of the most powerful assets you have access to

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Have a

transparent

process

and take

time with

buyers

Make buyers

feel they are

part of a

community

Provide

information

that is

emotional as

well as

transactional.

Acknowledge

the emotional

importance of

the purchase

Demonstrate

empathy and

thoughtfulness



How much it will cost you

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$0



Thank you!

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Download the full report:

http://www.corelogic.com.au/buyersperception