The Price Guide

Why Price Guides Mean Less Than Ever

The first question almost every buyer asks is:

“What’s the guide?”

Ironically, it’s becoming one of the least useful pieces of information.

In today’s Inner West market,

we’ve seen properties guided at $2.0m sell for $1.95m,

while others with the same guide have pushed well beyond $2.3m.

The guide tells you where the campaign starts.

It rarely tells you where the property is likely to finish.

That’s because every agent has a different pricing strategy.

Some guide low to build competition.

Some guide close to their reserve.

Others never intended to sell within the guide at all.

That’s why understanding the property is only half the equation. The other half is understanding the agent.

Every selling agent has patterns.

Experience teaches which agents consistently underquote,

who genuinely wants a pre-auction offer,

who likes to negotiate early,

and who almost always lets the market decide on auction day.

Combine this with comparable sales and live buyer intel,

and you’ll have a clearer understanding

of where a property is actually likely to sell.

Inexperience with this process is why buyers end up blowing time and money on properties way out of budget and/or missing out on ones that might actually be in reach.

The guide starts the conversation.

Understanding the market,

and the people selling in it is what helps you buy with confidence.