Does the real estate market in Australia work similar to the UK way or more like the north american way ?

E.

You have settlement agents here instead of solicitors, and I've heard the whole process is quicker than in th UK. Also the stamp duty is very expensive!

Don't know much else I'm afraid

Bit of both, except that agents in Australia have none of the high moral values they do in the UK and USA! (Seriously).

Yup - they will event fictious bidders.

They have lawyers or conveyencing specialists. Stamp duty is quite cheap actually and as a new arrival you are technically a first time buyer and can apply for the $7000 grant.

Oh the offer price - bid below to start with. Its a buyers market out there.

Similar to the UK in the general process. Main difference is that offers are binding and similar to exchanging a contract in the UK in that if you pull out you will lose money. No Gazumping or sellers mucking you around not actually wanting to see the house etc. If the offer can subject to finance and if finance is refused, then there are no penalties. Your offer can actually be subject to anything, but has to be agreeable to the seller and in Perth it has been a very busy market, so the best offers are usually taken.

Big benefit in this is the speed of buying a house is amazing. I think ours was about 6 weeks from offer to moving in. Completely different from our experiences in the UK and very much more stress-free.

The Real Estate Agents in Australia undertake the marketing and selling of the properties. The agency pays for all of the advertising and the agents take prospective buyers through the houses, extolling the best features and answering the many questions. They even drive you around to the various properties you are interested in viewing. I've never had that level of service in the UK - you have to pay for any brochures and you have to show your own property to prospective buyers.
Aussie agents are required to be registered as well, so if you do have a problem, you at least have someone in authority to moan to.

so when i look at realestate.com. au and they say offers 550k plus, do they mean nothing less than 500 or 550 ?

In terms of ethics, you have to go in asuming nothing and offer what you think the place is worth-in this respect I wouldn't necessarily pick on aussie ones as being a bad bunch but we dealt with some good ones. They do have much higher opinions of themselves as evidenced by advertising.

The process is quicker, and there is less qazuming, and less chains - on this basis alone I'd go for the aussie one. Remember to build in all subject to clauses bits, trying to leave a getout clause - and be cautious what you sign even if you think it is a statement of interest. It may be to legally buy the house with no out clause.

This I find a bit of a larf! 550+ or some do 520 - 580!! What are they thinking about?!

It really depends on where the house is and what it is like. Unfortunately if it is a good house, then they are expecting offiver above 550 and will get it if the market value is there in the land. Mostly I think they are trying it on. In Perth the market is still moving quite quickly and property does not hang around and the prices are still going up. So a seller can expect a higher offer. Nothing like starting to get a bargain though.

There was a price range on our house and we offered below the start of the range and had our offer accepted. With no ties from the UK, you can be a very good buyer and they will take this into consideration when accepting a lower offer.

Something that we were not expecting through our previous time in NSW was the bargaining that is required - not only in property, but when our buying anything (not the supermarket and such like, but say furnature, electricals etc).

Property - what about the home open idea - fantastic. On the weekend you wander around peoples houses looking at them all rather than booking appointments. What a good idea!

Offer below - nothing ventured nothing gained.

The process is fast and open. A bit like the Scottish one (no offence pommies).

Are you a real estate agent? It sounds like it: I would bet that a large proportion of the forum members who've had any contact with Australian agents would say you are 100% wrong!

Too right. Any houses we wanted to look at were at times convenient for the agent, not us. They do not work weekends, nor evenings and a few never returned our numerous calls regarding houses we were interested in. That's why we chose to build instead. Screw the agents. When and if we ever decide to sell our house (once it's built) we'll do it privately without the "help" of these useless pricks.

I don't know where you are in Australia but this certainly doesn't happen in Melbourne. The vendor pays the agent a % of the sale price and then they also charge the cost of advertising/ boards on top of that.

Oh bummer - then the situation has changed in the past few years when I last purchased a home in WA. The agent I used did do all this. Anyway, this was just my experience.
And no, I'm definately not a real estate agent. There is bound to be one on this forum though who could probably shed some light on 'what, when, how and why'.

Our agents did work all hours, and defo weekends it seemed. Even 10pm. Christ you lot are a cynical miserable bunch.