SECRET CODE

REAL estate agents speak their own language, says Tom Panos.

This article will give you a backstage deep dive so you can become an expert in agent jargon.

The next time you are talking to an agent, you might want to flex your vocabulary to let them know you are onto them.

In reference to the buyer. The agent feels like this buyer is a waste of time as they won’t make a decision and are nothing but a chronic looker.

Stands for Vendor Bid. A vendor bid is a bid that an owner can make on their property during their auction. This is a way transparent way of ‘fast-forwarding’ the auction so a sale can be secured.

A sale that involves two deals. Eg: a vendor who is selling and buying from the same agent at the same time.

This term is used to describe a commission scheme that has a bonus ‘kicking in’ after a certain number is achieved by the agent on the sale of a property. Eg: the commission scale could be 1.5 per cent up to $1,000,000 then 10 per cent thereafter.

Often used to describe the opening bid of an auction.

This term is used to describe a property for sale that has little or no marketing attached to it. Where the confusion lies is that there are now varying degrees of off-market sales including direct to an agency’s buyer database and social media, but not listed on the portals.

At an auction, this is an opening bid by a buyer at a higher than expected starting point. This is generally to intimidate other buyers.

Unsurprisingly, this is a reference to a property that needs to be knocked down and rebuilt.

Used to describe a buyer who deliberately puts in a low offer to see what the agent and /or the vendor’s response is.

Describes the desired sale price a vendor is hoping to achieve. Agents use this word to describe the process of getting a vendor to accept the reality of the market.

The disgraceful practice that a minority of agents use to attract buyers to an auction by quoting a low number to the interested parties. This is also known as ‘underquoting’ and is an offence.

Agents use this term to describe a property that sold a lot more or a lot less when looking at comparable sales data.

This term is used to describe agents who deceptively overprice a property to win the listing with the view that as the time goes by, they will be able to condition (see above) the vendor.

A buyer who is overly emotional and pays a premium on a property.

The above is a basic explanation on agent talk. Next time you’re dealing with an agent, you may want to use some of these terms to let them know you are not an amateur in a marketplace where agents appear to have the upper hand.