Vendor discounting is the magical percentage between the original asking price of a property for sale by private treaty and the eventual sale price. Armed with this figure, as well as a suburb’s average “days on market” number, househunters can be ready to get serious at the negotiating table.

According to CoreLogic data, the most dramatic vendor discounting city-wide is in Darwin where property prices have stagnated over the past year. The Top End’s capital saw a median house price dip of 0.9 per cent over the last quarter of 2015, and as a result the average vendor discount there is 7.2 per cent.

Although the median unit price in Darwin was actually up a modest 1.1 per cent over the same period, vendor discounts on apartments averaged a huge 11.2 per cent.

Head west and in Perth, where house price medians dipped 1.6 per cent and units were down 0.2 per cent over the quarter, the discounting figures are also significant. The average vendor discount for houses in Perth is 6.8 per cent less than the original ticket price, while average unit discounts are 7.5 per cent.

However, even in “hot” property markets like Sydney and Melbourne there are some examples of vendor discounting.

CoreLogic data shows that in Sydney and Melbourne the average vendor discounts for houses are 4.8 per cent and 4.6 per cent respectively. Units prices in those cities are seeing average vendor discounts of 4.2 per cent and 4.8 per cent.

HOW TO FIND A DISCOUNT

Prices dropping during a marketing campaign could be the sign of a dramatic shift in local property prices, but the phenomenon can also be put down to sellers’ expections being out of line with the current market.

Buyer’s agent Chris Gray of Your Empire said seeking out where price discounts can be made is a matter of doing your homework.

“If you’re constantly monitoring the market, you should be able to tell how long a property has been listed,” he said.

Mr Gray said knowing a property’s time on market, and the average time it takes to sell in a given suburb, is vital before starting negotiations.

“You either need to pay for those reports, or you need to be really organised and basically list every single property and the times that the price changes. Either monitor the market, or pay for the information,” he said.

Mr Gray said depending on which patch of Australia someone is househunting in, prices may not be advertised but by doing your due diligence a buyer can work out a starting point.

“It’s basically pointing out to the agent, ‘This is how long it takes to sell a property here, this is how long yours has been on the market and this is how much the price has dropped’ and then you give them some comparable sales,” he said.

“That’s the logical way to negotiate on a price – show them this is what other similar properties sold for,” he said.

Mr Gray’s additional tips include getting an independent valuation done on the home you’re after and drilling the agent for information.

“The agents should be telling you the truth anyway, but to be sure ask the agent some direct questions like when the home was first listed, what was the price it was listed at originally,” he said.

“The more you can get out of the agent to say why are they selling, what their motivations are, the better. Even if the property is actually worth more the owner might need to get to get out and noone else is buying. That’s when you can act on emotion rather than just waving a cheque around,” he said.

However, he added that waving a cheque could actually be a winning move.

“One of the best things you could do when negotiating is actually write a cheque and give them a contract. Then say ‘Well look here’s the deal, it might not be the best deal but you can cash this cheque today.’ Having an offer in writing is one thing, but it doesn’t commit you to anything so give them something that isn’t subject to something else,” he said.

But it doesn’t always have to be about the cash. There is more that can be discussed at the negotiating table than the sale price.

“You could offer things like a long settlement, or allowing the owners to rent the property for either nothing, or at a cheap market rate for a while after the sale. You could offer to buy their furniture, or look after a pet. It’s almost anything you can think of to help out the seller, be flexible and that can be worth a lot more than money,” he said.

WHERE TO FIND THE BIGGEST DISCOUNT SUBURBS

SYDNEY

Suburb – average vendor discount

Wiley Park -25.4 per cent

Belfield -23.9 per cent

Freshwater -22.1 per cent

South Hurstville -20.6 per cent

Forest Lodge -19.5 per cent

MELBOURNE

Mickleham -26.6 per cent

Vermont South -23.8 per cent

Box Hill North -15.6 per cent

Caulfield North -14.8 per cent

Camberwell -13.6 per cent

BRISBANE

Milton -13.9 per cent

Stockleigh -13.3 per cent

Carbrook -12.5 per cent

Clayfield -11.4 per cent

Park Ridge -11.3 per cent

DARWIN

Woodroffe -10.7 per cent

Stuart Park -10.1 per cent

Bayview -9.7 per cent

Ludmilla -9.3 per cent

Fannie Bay -9 per cent

CANBERRA

Curtin -19.1 per cent

Florey -10 per cent per cent

Mawson -9.8 per cent

Deakin -9.6 per cent

Wright -7.6 per cent

HOBART

Primrose Sands -10.6 per cent

Hobart -9.7 per cent

Derwent Park -8.9 per cent

Glebe -8.4 per cent

Rokeby -8.3 per cent

PERTH

Brigadoon -12.7 per cent

East Perth -12.7 per cent

Dalkeith -12.2 per cent

Peppermint Grove -12 per cent

Woodbridge -11.7 per cent

ADELAIDE

Urrbrae -15.7 per cent

Semaphore -10.8 per cent

Stirling -10.4 per cent

Medindie -10.4 per cent

Athol Park -10.3 per cent

 
[Source:- News.au]