Real Estate Agents

Key statistics

I receive better service and more attention from a smaller real estate agency: 24.7%

As a seller, I think real estate agents charge too much for what they do: 13.4%

As a renter, I think real estate agents/landlords charge too much for what they do: 15.1%

I think I pay too much rent for what I get in return: 18.1%

I bought a house outside my preferred area because it was cheaper: 9.2%

I generally trust real estate agents: 20.5%

I was happy with the real estate agent I worked with: 56.4%

I feel the costs involved with selling a home are justified: 3.7%

Fees

There can be a lot of costs involved with selling your home. Expenses you will need to consider include:

• Administration fee – Expect to pay approximately $500.
• Agent’s commission or fee – Obviously, these vary between agencies, but in broad terms you can expect to pay between 2.95% – 4% on the first $400,000 of your sale price and around 2% on anything over that.
• Marketing costs – These are usually incurred on top of the commission fee and cover the cost of advertising in local property magazines, newspapers and online, as well as any bespoke property literature. Again, there is a huge variance in costs here, as it really does depend on what the vendor wants and how much additional cash they want to spend. Have a clear plan of what you want to spend before you sign any agreements. Also have a clear understanding of how many adverts you can expect, their size and when and where they will be placed.
• Auctioneers costs – You can expect to pay around $500 for the services of a qualified auctioneer, regardless of whether your property sells or not. 

Service

No matter which agent you engage, in return for the fees and charges, you should expect:

• Clear advice on what is involved in selling your property, including outlining your legal obligations.
• An outline of current market conditions and recent selling prices of comparable properties in your area.
• To be given copies of the Agency Agreement Guide and the Sale and Purchase Agreement Guide.
• Arranging and managing the advertising of your property.
• To be provided with a pool of potential buyers viewing your property.
• Your agent to act as a contact point for potential buyers and other agents, answering queries and arranging viewings (both scheduled open homes and private appointments).

The most important thing is to do your research before you sign with an agent and, where possible, to negotiate. All agreements should be included in your agency agreement (which both you and the agent sign) but make sure you receive and read a copy of the agency agreement guide before you make any decisions.

Every real estate agent needs to be registered and must adhere to a code of conduct. In addition, their licence needs to be renewed with the Real Estate Agents Authority each year. 

Canstar Blue surveyed 5138 New Zealand consumers across a range of categories to measure and track customer satisfaction, via ISO 26362 accredited research panels managed by Qualtrics. The outcomes reported are the results from customers who had used the services of a real estate agent to purchase, sell or rent a home in the last three years. In this case, 1166 New Zealanders.

Brands must have received at least 30 responses to be included. Results are comparative and it should be noted that brands receiving three stars have still achieved a satisfaction measure of at least six out of 10. Not all brands available in the market have been compared in this survey. The ratings table is first sorted by star ratings and then by mean overall satisfaction. A rated brand may receive a ‘N/A’ (Not Applicable) rating if it does not receive the minimum number of responses for that criteria.

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