Website Could Make Thousands More for Property Owners

Website Could Make Thousands More for Property Owners

Press release – 29 October 2012

A new website launches today giving property owners a comprehensive tool to find the best real estate agent in their area and get the best price when they sell.

New online offering www.FindMyRealEstateAgent.co.nz is the creation of successful Auckland business owner, Paul Vujnovich, who has spent almost a decade in the real estate industry intrigued at how property owners chose their agents.

“I’ve found that many people choose their agent from either a random sign they’ve seen, a brochure put through their letterbox or meeting an agent at an open home. Considering your home is your biggest asset, it appeared that no, or very little due diligence is really ever done. That’s way too haphazard. There are so many pitfalls with this approach.”

According to Vujnovich, these include not selling your house at all or losing an estimated five to seven percent off the sale price because your agent is not a strong marketer or negotiator.

“The average price for a home in New Zealand right now is $428,000 (QV). That represents as much as $30,000 or more you could be missing out on simply because you didn’t choose an agent based on their marketing and negotiation abilities or relevant expertise in your suburb. My website is designed so you can compare suburb specialists as it promotes agents who offer themselves as specialising in selling properties in your area.”

The new site is absolutely free for property owners to use and offers the agent an opportunity to promote themselves to sellers with their photo, profile, testimonials and video. The agent can only be linked as a specialist in two suburbs, no matter what city or town. Agents pay a fee, $99.95 annually, to create a comprehensive profile to help sellers with their decision, otherwise the site will only carry their name and phone number.

Mike Pero of Mike Pero Real Estate says, “I believe the site and the concept has real merit for homebuyers. It gives them a chance to see who the proactive agents are in their area. It also compares apples with apples and potential customers can see what they're getting for the commission they will part with. In our case, with lower fees to clients, we believe this site will work well for our brand”.

The top tips to finding the best agent, Vujnovich says, include making a concise short list of agents who market themselves well, then using the checklist of questions on the site to assess your short listed agent’s suitability. FindMy Real Estate Agent makes this easy.

“If they have difficulty marketing themselves to a high standard, how are they going to market your home to a high standard? It’s well worth thinking about. FindMy Real Estate Agent provides a checklist of questions that you can send an agent via the site. The questions have been carefully thought through and cover much of what prospective sellers should be asking their agent, though unfortunately I’ve found that very few homeowners ever do.”

The site launches today and Vujnovich is expecting its popularity to grow rapidly.

“It’s just common sense that there should be something to provide more comprehensive information on real estate agents, so that you can make your decision based on facts, not who’s sign you happened to pass yesterday or who put a business card in your mailbox last week. I’ve thought for a long time that something dedicated for potential sellers should exist, so ultimately I decided to build it myself.”

Ends

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