Choosing your agent

By Hayden Groves

Scrolling through the listings throughout greater Fremantle on reiwa.com the other day, not only are there hardly any homes available for sale – about 85 across the region – most of the stock is apartments at a ratio of 82:18. Quality detached homes are in huge demand across the entire metro area with demand for Fremantle homes higher than elsewhere due to the nature of the built environment. Much of Fremantle is cottage-built, there are plenty of semi-detached homes on compact lots and apartments and terrace homes feature prominently.

This is good news for homeowners in Fremantle’s outer suburbs, White Gum Valley, Beaconsfield, Hilton, Hamilton Hill and East Fremantle where there is a greater proportion of detached homes than apartment and villa stock. Demand in these suburbs is generating strong competition amongst buyers with multiple offers on single homes on market still common despite recent market adjustment. In Fremantle itself, four-bedroom homes are hard to find with only 18 of them selling over the past 12 months at an average price of $1,235,438. In contrast, 49 one-to-two bedrooms homes sold last year at an average price of $815,225.

Across the metro area, there are only 4,295 homes listed for sale, about 2,000 fewer than a year ago. Median house prices have moved up from $516,750 in June last year to be $530,000 today. Meanwhile, unit values have dipped from the December 2021 peak of $415,000 to $410,000.

With these tight stock levels, competition amongst agents to secure listings, knowing that they are almost guaranteed to sell, is fiercer than usual. Letterboxes are filled with agent flyers informing occupants of everything from market updates to Christmas pudding recipes.

Agents will go to extraordinary lengths to ingratiate themselves on would-be sellers. Presented with the opportunity to list, some agents will turn up bearing flowers, champagne and chocolates on multiple occasions to encourage the owners to list with them.

There can be a fine line between delivery of service and harassment. I have heard many times, owners end up listing with an agent just so they’d stop harassing them. This is often not their agent of choice.

Owners ought to give careful consideration to their reasons behind choosing their agent. I doubt would-be sellers would actively seek an agent that delivered the best gifts or had the most vibrant personality. Surely, sellers would prefer their agent to have a demonstrated competency and proven method of delivering the best sales outcome. Sometimes, your preferred agent will have both, but sellers are well advised to not be blindsided by charm and inducements alone. Look for substance over style, professionalism over persistence. It’s not a personality contest.

Obviously, sellers are likely to choose an agent they warm to and like over one they don’t. However, look for agents that will genuinely care about the outcome for you rather than those desperate for a listing to make their numbers look good.