How much are advertising fees normally?

[Ahurani]

I think we have found the company we are going to sell the house with. He came over tonight to talk about fee's etc. Anyway the advertising fees are over $3000. Is this normal?

And the commission rate is 2%

Any help in this qould be great Thanks ladies/gents

[Beach Mama]

We negotiated the advertising because we didn't feel the need to go full brochures, lighting on our board, etc. You dont have to go with what they recommend, ours ended up being around $1000 in the end. It sold in under a week from internet only and we got some back but I really think the net and the OFI are what sell the house. People don't care if they don't get a pretty brochure to hold on to, if they love the house they will put in an offer.
We discussed it with the agent and said that if it didn't sell after a few weeks that we would look at upping the advertising at that point but stuck with local paper, net and a simple board out front.
Good luck - such a stressful and expensive time. We also negotiated the commission down to around 1.75% so don't think what they tell you is set in stone either.

[Mak]

Not sure about costs perhaps ring about to compare? We sold in Melb 7 years ago and advertising was about $2000 but that was limited so not in the major papers etc. Perhaps try and negotiate a jump in commision if there is a higher figure you wish to acheive - may give the RE a bit of extra incentive. Good luck it is a stressful business!!! xxx

[Miss E]

I think those fees are pretty normal, I've met with a couple of agents this week and they both gave me advertising costs of around the $4,000 to $5,000 mark. These included photography, board, brochures, copywriting etc and advertising online, in The Age, agent mag and local papers.

I think ultimately the amount you spend on advertising comes down to the way you are selling. If you are doing a private sale I think you can afford to take it easy and see how far a little goes. But if you are going to auction then I think it is well worth spending a bit more, because it is really important to generate as much interest as possible as quickly as possible to get the best price on the day.

[Enchanted]

I agree with Tan, you don't need the expensive advertising! Papers and internet are all you really need!!

Having worked in Real Estate I can tell you that the only reason they try and sell you all the pretty extras like the beautiful big lit boards, glossy brochures etc is for their image! The internet is a great source and usually the first place people go to find properties as well as local papers. I would stick with the basic package, all agents are able to create their own brochures to distribute to potential purchasers and if they do will charge you a minimal cost.

Hth!

[Ahurani]

I mean TBH we live on a dead end street lol, Im not sure if we would need a board? He said we should auction.. fair enough. Ergh its so stressful

[skybie]

Who on earth are u goign through!!!!!!!!
ours were 580 for a twilight shoot, would have been 500 for a day shoot.
also included all internet ads, two paper ads, board out the front, fliers at opens and a thing in the window in the shop.
our commisions are 2.5% though
oh and we're accepting an offer tomorrow, so its been on the market 8 days

[Ahurani]

We are going through Buxtons, that price includes 4 weeks in the local papers :/

[Enchanted]

You could just have a standard board out the front. They usually only charge you to erect it.

I would sit down with the agent again and get them to break everything down to you (incl. costs) and why they think you need x,y and z with the advertising. Ask them what their main sources of inquiry are and maybe work off that?! (They always keep track of where inquiries are generated from!)

ETA- Buxtons have a HUGE rep for advertising and being the leading in marketing etc etc. So they will try and sell you all the bells and whistles you don't really need.

[skybie]

hmm i think i would have fallen over and died if they told us 3000! i guess u got to look at how much comminsions would be at a higher rate like 2.5% and see the difference in advertising ITMS?? seems exxy to me, but i only know from what we've paid

[deletedit]

What the hell are they using for advertising? Gold plated brochures from a plane? The agent here wanted $4000 commission including all advertising.

Advertising here was about $300-500.

I ended up selling my house after 6 months with an agent and another year listed on gumtree. Hasn't settled yet. I'm getting charged $400 to draw up a contract, but that's it.

[~Gee_Whizzy~]

We are going through Buxtons, that price includes 4 weeks in the local papers :/

Wow, my sisters BIL works for them! - is it the bentleigh office?

[Ahurani]

Funny yes it is lol

[spooky]

Is the 2% gst inclusive? We paid 2% which is actually 2.2% once they add on the gst- not usually quoted with it. It might not sound like a lot, but when you work it out from your sale price, the extra .2 is still a lot of money.

It's also important to go with the market leader for your area, as buyers who miss out on another property will be directed towards yours if the agent is doing their job properly.

[Miss E]

Funny yes it is lol

Oh how funny! I just met with the bentleigh buxton guys yesterday!

You know you can negotiate the commission, they will do anything from 1.65% to 3%. And you can also negotiate performance bonuses too - eg. they get 1.65% for the first $500K (or whatever) and then 2.5% for everything they get over $500K.

I do think it is important to keep in mind that the advertising is completely seperate to the commission, the agent makes next to nothing off of what you spend on advertising. The reality is that buying advertising space in melbourne papers is going to be a lot more expensive than in rural or regional areas. TBH, coming from the advertising industry, I was reasonably suprised at how low the rates they were able to get were. Ultimately I think it comes down to what you need. An extra $2K on advertising is well worth it if it attracts 2 or 3 more bidders to an auction and lets you get an extra $20 or $30K for your property.

[Mak]

Friends are looking in that area and I am amazed by how much they miss as they rely on the agents books/papers and seem to be a bit random with their internet searching and agent harrassment so I would agree with Miss E about the advertising, however the agents are also advertising themselves too - I guess you have to be guided by the RE's expertise to some degree also and the standards for the area as well. Good luck in your searching. xx