It is hard to gauge the mood of the moment. Some agents have mentioned that they are experiencing a short lull - possibly due to the election and the rate rise - while others are saying they have not stopped. Who knows - but my guess is that some people are waiting for the new year to make any big decisions.
Property Valuations
Last mail-out I said I was going to talk about property valuations. When property values start to rise a buyer needs to know that they are paying fair value for a purchase and not be taken in by what agents hype or what is known as "undue vender expectation". As you know an agent is expected to get for his client (the vender) the best possible price and will never tell a potential buyer that they are paying well over market value. That is the job of the buyers agent who is working solely for the buyer.
So - how is a property valued?
Mostly it is just an agreement between the listing agent and the seller on what they both think the property is worth. It is easier to value a normal suburban house in a busy neighborhood as you can go on previous sales of a similar nature. But when a property is unique or different, renovated or highly sought after then different rules may apply. An agent will be happy to come to your house and value it for free. However, (Shock! Horror!) it has been know that some agents may inflate their market valuations in order to get the business.
