Discounts for quick sales

Press, 5 April 1989, Page 9

Discounts for quick sales

A Christchurch real estate firm has reacted to recent criticism of the industry overcharging sellers by offering discounts to those whose houses sell quickly. Packard Real Estate, part of the national Professionals chain, is offering a fee discount of up to 30 per cent depending on the time it takes its agents to sell a house. On a $90,000 house it represents a saving in agent’s charges of more than $llOO. Recently the Consumers’ Institute magazine, “Consumer,” criticised estate agents’ fees, saying they had risen dramatically in the three years since the abolition

of Government-fixed charges. Mr Phil Kennard, of Packard, said the industry accepted that standard fees for houses selling within days were unfair. Houses selling within a month also deserved lower charges because agents spent less advertising the property than on a house that took longer to sell. Packard is offering a 30 per cent discount on its standard charge, $350 plus 3.75 per cent of the sale price, if a house listed with it sells within 48 hours. The discount is 22.5 per cent if the house sells within a week and 5 per cent up to 90 days.