PHOTO: realestate.com.au
An Australian property expert has unveiled simple techniques to uncover the asking price of any home without contacting a real estate agent.
Davey Hamilton, co-host of the popular podcast Everything Property, shared his tips for those eager to break into Australia’s competitive housing market. However, these tricks are best utilized on a laptop or desktop computer.
“Here’s a hack you probably didn’t know about: if you’re tired of seeing ‘contact agent’ and just want to know the price, try this,” Mr. Hamilton explained in a video.
“Go to realestate.com, right-click and select ‘inspect,’ search for ‘value,’ and scroll down until you find the price.”
While this method works in New South Wales, Davey noted that buyers in Queensland might face challenges due to the state’s more relaxed pricing laws. In contrast, Victoria requires prices to be listed in advertisements.
For a tip that works across all states and even on Domain, Davey recommended installing the Property Seeker extension on Chrome. Once installed, the extension automatically reveals the price when you click on a property listing. “Thank me later,” he added.
Although the listed price may sometimes be lower than the actual market value, Australians praised the “genius-level” hacks.
Viewers have dubbed Davey Hamilton a “property god” for his innovative methods to discover a home’s asking price without needing to speak to an agent.
“Wow, this actually works, thanks heaps, man,” one potential buyer commented.
“I’m going to thank you now,” another agreed.
“You had me at ‘if you’re sick of agents’,” a third added.
Inspired by Davey’s advice, others shared their own creative tips for finding out an asking price without making a phone call.
“On the app, I use the map view and filter the price down in increments until the property doesn’t show up anymore, so I know the rough price the agent listed it for,” one person shared.
“My trick is to check the home loan calculator, which usually gives me an idea of how much they’re asking,” another suggested.
Frustrated homebuyers expressed a desire for greater transparency in Australian property advertising, calling for less reliance on agents for information.
“In Denmark, the price must be listed, and there’s a record of all changes—every price listed, each time it was increased or decreased, what price it was listed for before being taken off the market, and what price it sold for,” one person said.
Davey Hamilton and Travis Fernandez are the gurus behind number one Aussie podcast Everything Property
While some argued that the hacks only reveal the number an agent entered, many agreed that knowing the agent’s figure is still a helpful indication of affordability for most Australians.
One house hunter even joked about normalizing late-night calls to agents: “Normalize calling real estate agents at 3AM to wake them.”
Another pointed out that Davey’s tips won’t solve the broader issue of housing affordability: “Spoiler alert: This is Australia; the price is already around a million.”
SOURCE: THE DAILY MAIL