New Zealanders and Australians could save themselves $6 billion in real estate agents' fees and advertising by selling their homes privately, says an author who wants to see more DIY sales.
Monday, September 13th 2004, 3:56AM
by The Landlord
Expatriate New Zealander and property author Terry Ryder has written Real Estate Without Agents (Rowley Publications, $32.95) to encourage more people to cut agents out of the sales process.
The book went on sale here and in Australia this month.
Ryder, based in Maleny, on the Sunshine Coast, said New Zealanders spent about $1 billion a year on agents' fees, money they could keep if they sold houses privately.
The author also criticised real estate agency commissions in New Zealand, which he said were double the Australian average of 2 per cent.
Bryan Thomson, chief executive of New Zealand's largest realtor, Harcourts, said he expected most New Zealanders would be too intelligent to buy an Australian book on selling houses privately.
