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One of Australia’s best agents has achieved a massive sale premium by holding his nerve and rejecting a strong pre-auction bid that was already well above expectation.
McGrath Lane Cove sales agent Brent Courtney, who placed 24th in this year’s Top 100 Agents ranking, played off four buyers against each other after turning down an offer that was 14 per cent above his original estimate.
Mr Courtney originally estimated that the five-bedroom home in Greenwich would sell for $3.5 million-plus and then received a $4 million offer just before the auction – but ultimately scored a $4.26 million result.
The Sydney agent persuaded his vendor to turn down the tempting offer on the basis that he would be able to use it as leverage to bump up the property’s sale price.
“It was last minute and we had three other very interested buyers that were all going to come to auction anyway, so I met up with the vendor and we decided it was best to continue to go to auction,” he told REB.
“I went back to the people that made the offer and told them that if they wanted to buy it before auction, we would have to get back to the other bidders, so it was literally turning into an auction prior to the auction.”
Mr Courtney’s judgement was vindicated when the original bidder shied away from a pre-auction bidding war so they could compete face-to-face with the other buyers.
[Related: Top 100 Agent reveals listing secret]
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