I sold my unit in S.E. Perth last year. To arrive at a price, I did extensive market research over a couple of weeks of comparable properties. I then invited 4 agents to give me a projected sales price, recommended list price and to set out their total fees. Projected sales price ranged from $180,000 to $270,000. To select an agent, I deliberately went against my instincts and picked the sleaziest agent from the bunch because I wanted a high price and a quick sale. I knew the guy was dodgy because as soon as he opened his mouth I could tell what he was saying wasn't at all true. I also listed below his recommended list price to achieve a quick sale. Oh, and I was spot on with my value of the property based on market research.
The agent got me a quick sale, very close to my asking price but put some pretty odd conditions on the sale because the buyers were his "clients" and he was looking after them. Pretty much, what he was doing wasn't actually legal. It got so bad at his agency that he was asked to move on. This sounds like a nightmare but I was really lucky that the conditions on mine were for really minor faults and cost very little money and time to remedy. One example was a blown light bulb which became part of the contract to fix. The sale ended up going through with very little hassle. I'm not sure I would recommend this strategy to someone else though.
As an aside, how about that guy with a projected sales price of $180,000. The unit sold for $257,000 in a couple of weeks. He was way off!
