It must be the seven-year itch, because when buying a home Australians, on average, do it every seven years.
Whether it’s to upsize or downsize, buying a home is still one of the most stressful and expensive transactions most of us will ever endure.
Another interesting statistic is that many people buying a home purchase a property within, or very close to, their existing suburb. There are a variety of reasons why people move – the size of the home, access to amenities, the needs of children, proximity to work, and proximity to leisure activities – and for some it’s buying a home to renovate.
Yes, thanks to shows like ‘The Block’ and the ability to access information, the creative juices are flowing into home renovations. The great thing about that is you can craft a home to fit your needs and tastes. Even when not planning to renovate, purchasers usually want to change SOMETHING. It could be non-invasive, such as re-painting or re-carpeting, right through to a major overhaul.
This got me thinking about the types of experts typical homebuyers might find useful. For example, renovating a home is one thing but what about the risk of over capitalization? Then there’s the knowledge of suburbs to find the right home at the right price.
If you’re a homeowner wishing to buy another property, then you probably need to work with a real estate agent. Maybe you’re like me; you know ONE real estate agent AND they don’t work remotely close to where you live, or want to live. What do you do?
I recently found a great website in my travels around the internet; RateMyAgent. It’s a website that helps people selling their home find the right agent when buying a home.
So I gave it a go. I put in my desired postcode and RateMyAgent did the rest. It gave me;
– a map of the suburb
– the number of active real estate agents in the surrounding area (57 in my case)
– the number of active agents in the precise suburb (24 in my case)
– how many properties have been sold over the past 12 months
– recently sold properties and their sale prices
– the top three agencies in the area and their percentages
– reviews for top selling agents
And that was all on the front page, I didn’t have to work to find any relevant information.
It’s no surprise, then, that RateMyAgent is Australia’s No.1 real estate agent ranking and review website.
As a test, I also put in the postcode of the suburb adjacent to mine. The information panels were the same but all the other information had changed – the top agents, top agencies, top reviews, recent sales and activities had all changed.
This tells me that the site is so sensitive I can base my decision on the sales and performance of an agent in my exact suburb. How great is that?
Just a cute extra I found intriguing; on the homepage there’s a real time sales bar showing which agent sold which property for which price most recently. Like ‘last five minutes’ recently.
Maybe that’s why the site is amassing 3,100+ reviews every week from genuine vendors. It’s an engaging site with a serious purpose.
RateMyAgent allows users to see the most recommended agents per suburb/region, most number of sales, highest average sale price, and number of active listings.
So when it comes to finding the agent YOU want with the expertise YOU need, this site rates highly! It’s a real time experience, so you can see the actual property sale details, even the floor plans.
I really love that feature because I did technical drawing for two years and toyed with being an Architect. I have designed over 300 homes and decorated them (with a computer program) so I love seeing floor plans, how a house flows, where rooms are situated, how much storage there is… is that weird?
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If you want to upgrade, downsize or renovate when buying a home, you can find a qualified real estate agent who knows your suburb and has sold homes similar to yours on RateMyAgent.
Give it a go and have a play with the engaging platform. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go back on-line to check out more floor plans.
FIND OUT MORE
Have some fun looking around the RateMyAgent website and follow them on social media, Facebook and Twitter.
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Additional information kindly supplied by RateMyAgent. Images courtesy of Design Unity, Harwyn Design Pod, Kirsten Peake Interiors, Matt Elkan Architect, Acorn Garden Houses,and Pickell Architecture.
