There’s no getting around it that homebuying is an emotional process. And in a way, it should be. You want to feel like your home is your haven. Each time you step through the door, there’s that swell of pride and comfort. The sense that you’ve found “your place” among all the others out there.
But being emotional about a home when you’re looking to buy it can be expensive. Your rose-coloured glasses may have you overlooking the realities of a property and might entice you to pay more than you should.
While some everyday buyers put that initial flush of emotional connection to a home down to their own instincts or experiences, the truth is that selling agents are adept marketers who use a variety of techniques to induce the endorphin rush you may feel towards a home. That’s fair enough because their job, after all, is to help their client, the vendor, achieve the best possible price and conditions on the sale of their property.
And most are very good at their job.
So, here are some of the tricks of the trade, and how we, as experienced buyers’ agents, look past them to ensure our clients don’t pay too much.
There are three stages of the process where we see agents playing the most to the emotions of potential buyers.
The listing
This is your first contact with the property, and the agent wants it to stand out from the pack.
Some use flowery language to lure you in, although, in my experience, most people can see past the “abundance of ambience” and “Zen-like existence” statements written by those trying a little too hard to be poetic.
Photos, however, are another matter entirely. From virtual furniture staging to adjusted lighting, there are myriad ways to make a property appear highly attractive online.
And I’ve seen worse. A few examples of photo tampering include the removal of an adjacent high-tension power line. Then there was the “splitter block (subject to council approval)” that an associate of mine saw advertised in Brisbane. The only problem? The conveniently deleted bus stop and power pole out front that would have completely blocked the imagined hatchet-block’s driveway. I’ve also seen digitally touched-up paintwork and, of course, photos of “city views” taken by a drone hovering a few metres above the roofline, or a camera hanging out a bathroom window.
All of it is designed to make you shortlist the home and get you to the open.
As buyers’ agents, we know exactly how listings can be manipulated online and how they play on the emotions. When sorting through them, we deal in the hard-and-fast facts of location, layout, accommodation, condition, and site improvements. We focus on the practicalities to determine whether a property is genuinely the best fit for your needs.
The inspection
When you arrive at the first open home, most properties will be at their absolute best. Even if it’s a renovator, the agent will ensure it’s clean and tidy with the lawn mown, paint touched up as needed, and things patched where possible.
You’ll often find furniture in place, with the rooms styled like a showroom.
Then there are the emotional triggers. We all know about agents who want the smell of fresh-baked bread and brewing coffee wafting through the home. That’s an old trick that many folks see through. But how about those who dress the cocktail bar with accoutrements, or float an inflatable flamingo in the pool? These help you imagine the wonderful life you’ll enjoy here.
But the fact remains that they want you concentrating on the cosmetics. Appearance over substance.
Buyers’ agents, however, know that beauty is only skin deep.
We look beyond the shag-pile rug and assess the condition of the floors, walls, and ceilings. We get under the home where access allows, looking for signs of structural challenges or water damage. If it’s a serious prospect, we assess the age and condition of the fittings and fixtures. Is the hot water system on its last legs? Is the air conditioner an older unit that will soon need servicing or replacing?
Then there are the nuances of timing. It’s all well and good to be there on a sunny Saturday morning, but what’s it like living in the home at other times of the day, week or year? How does the surrounding road noise affect it in peak hour? Is the sunlight overshadowed by neighbouring buildings or trees in winter? Does the nearby school create challenges for on-street parking at drop-off and pick-up?
These are the questions a 30-minute open home is designed to skirt around, so we make sure they’re answered well before our clients commit.
The discussion
The third way an agent will try to elevate your connection to a home is through a convincing conversation.
They’ll speak of its potential. They’ll wax lyrical about its spaces. They’ll paint pictures of pleasant evenings spent around the dinner table and long weekends on the back deck.
They’ll cite select sales that support a higher figure. And some will avoid substance issues that could paint a negative light. If they do touch on an obvious detriment, they will deliver a dismissive but quick solution, and then quickly pivot to more positive conversation.
This, however, is the space where buyers’ agents shine.
Firstly, we have long-established relationships with most selling agents, which allows us to have unemotional discussions on a professional, peer-to-peer basis. There’s no sales script that works on someone who’s heard them all before.
We also ask the most appropriate questions about the substance of the property, like its history, its issues, the vendor’s circumstances and the genuine level of buyer interest.
And we can talk expertly about truly comparable sales, citing exactly what’s happening in the local market to make our case on price.
When it comes to buying a home, it’s lovely to feel connected to a property, and you should. That said, the best results come from seeing past the fluff and pomp, understanding exactly what’s on offer, and securing it by parking the emotion and locking in on the facts.
This is where an experienced buyers’ agent earns their keep. Having assessed and negotiated hundreds of properties, we’ve seen every trick in the marketing playbook, and none of them work on us. We walk into an inspection or a negotiation free of attachment, armed instead with a clear-eyed assessment of what the property is genuinely worth and a plan to secure it on your terms.
That level head, working solely in your corner, is often the difference between overpaying for a beautifully presented illusion and paying fair value for a great home. And it’s something buyers’ agents deliver for their clients every single day.
Give us a call on 1300 655 615 to start a conversation about your next property purchase, or click here to send us your enquiry today.
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