The latest real estate marketing tricks and what they mean for you

The fight for listings is on! 

The rollercoaster ride that is the Sydney property market continues to rattle along and it’s approaching a peak in September when things really start to get competitive.

Spring tends to be one of the most popular times to buy and when many agents make the bulk of their income. If they don’t have listings lined up, they risk missing out on all the action. 

The problem is a severe lack of stock, so agents think even further outside the box to convince you to sign on the dotted line. 

Getting personal

‘I have a buyer for your home. Please call me.’ 

A client received this scrawled message on a business card in their mailbox, which made his daughter’s day. Her best friend's neighbour had just listed their house, and she was instantly on Dad’s back about living next door to her buddy. The timing was perfect for her because that agent said he already had a buyer for their place!

In reality, there’s unlikely to be a buyer waiting to make an offer on a house they’ve not even seen. But the card does start conversations and could get minds ticking over just enough to reach out to the agent. When you do, that ‘buyer’ may have moved on, but they’ll probably have other potential buyers ready to view. 

Mailbox overload 

How many flyers do you receive boasting about properties sold in the area? Like the business card, this marketing trick is designed to get you excited about the lineup of buyers who missed out on the nearby house and are interested in buying in the neighbourhood.  

If these vendor agents can get you to call, they can quickly get a bunch of people through your home, whether genuinely interested or not, making you feel like there’s a huge demand. 

And for the pushy Buyers Agents out there, it’s a tactic they use to get the ball rolling on your sale so they can start the hunt for a new property for you. 

Nobody should ever push you into starting your search for a new property or listing your current home prematurely because we know that nine times out of ten, it ends with cold feet just a few months into the process. Timing is everything, and it pays to have someone on your side who’ll help you get it right. 

Ghost listings

One of the most shocking tactics I have encountered is when listings are created for properties that aren’t for sale. The agents hope to farm the contacts of people who get in touch to enquire about a viewing or price guide. As soon as you get in touch, they’ve got your attention for long enough to talk you into another opportunity or pitch for the listing on your current home. 

Contacts crashing 

In a world of dirty tricks, agents cold calling another agent’s contact list to try and piggyback off their network is pretty low. This happened recently to an agent I know. Their colleagues worked through her entire database while she was on leave. The excuse? The contacts belonged to the agency, not the individual agent. Hmm. 

An agent who doesn’t have good contacts of their own is a major red flag! It’s their job to build a robust database and create personal relationships. Someone willing to sneak into someone else’s network isn’t the type of person you want to work with. 

As always, the important thing is to do your research and have a plan for your property transaction. You can’t buy (or sell) trust, but it can be built across a network over time if you have the right people on your side. 

Please reach out to my team if you would like to know more about searching for a property in the current market.