Glossary/Terms:

Agency:
Sole, Exclusive Agency which is one office promoting the property

Open Listing which means any number of agencies can offer the property to buyers, not a good way to sell, but the most favoured by sellers

Multilist, which is reasonably similar to the American Multilist system. Multilist has never really caught on over here. It goes through short bursts of growth then fades away again.

Selling Property:
Owners can sell privately or through an agent.

Auctions, and attitudes to Auctions also vary from state to state. They are currently quite popular in Victoria, especially in Melbourne. They are also used to sell a fair amount of Sydney property, particularly the very upmarket residential. One property went to Auction at the weekend in Sydney, didn't reach the reserve, but did go to $12.5 million!

Some franchise group agencies push Auction, but they are not universally accepted. Many of us believe they are ideal for "distress" sales and/or on a rising market, but are not advisable on a depressed market unless the property is unique.

For some reason Australian vendors do not like paying for advertising, convincing them to go to Auction also invloves convincing them to payout thousands of dollars on ads, good for the agency and agent, not necessarily in the vendor's best interests.

Because of state differences it is difficult to know what percentages are actually sold by Auction. Auction agents claim around 80% success, but from my observations it is far lower than that. Very few sell at Auction. Most that do find buyers sell in the Sole Agency weeks after Auction. Many simple don't sell at all and end up back for sale with other agents after the sole agency period has expired.

No more than 10% of properties are sold by the owners.

Commissions:
Vendors pay the commission, unless the Buyer signs a contract with the agent to act as a "Buyer's Agent", which then makes the buyer liable for the commission. This is a very rare event in Queensland, and I do not think the concept of Buyer Agent has taken off anywhere inAustralia.

Commissions are as variable as State laws allow.
In NSW there is no set commission, it is a negotiated deal.
In Queensland and most other states, the commission is set at a maximum level and while we can negotiate lower, it is difficult to get more!
In Queensland our maximum for residential property is 5% of the first $18,000 and 2.5% for the balance of the purchase price. We have the lowest maximum of any Australian State. This also explains why agents have to get the vendors to pay advertising costs.

Fees:
There are 4 types of fees involved in purchasing:

1. Solicitors professional fees
   These are the fees charged by a solicitor for conducting the purchase on your behalf
   
2. Solicitors search fees and outlays
   Cost of the many searches that must be undertaken to ensure the property is free from encumbrances.
   
3. Stamp Duty and registration fees, State Government Charges
   The amount of stamp duty paid depends upon the purchase price of the property, the area of land purchased,and also whether or not the parties purchasing the property are planning to reside in the property as their principal place of residence. Further concessions apply to first time buyers who will reside in the property. Your solicitor will give more detailed advice on this.
   

   The Queensland Department of Natural Resources also charges fees to register the transfer of ownership and any related mortgage documents.

4. Financiers (Lender) Fees
   The fees to be charged by your financier should be discussed with them BEFORE you apply for finance. Remember, they will be getting a good deal of interest from you over the years, so they can afford to negotiate on the question of application fees, and ongoing charges.

Settlement:
Settlement occurs on the day specified in the Contract and will generally occur at the place and time nominated by the Vendor. The respective parties legal representatives and Financiers attend this settlement where Title Deeds and documents are exchanged for cheques (money).

It is the general practice that the Purchaser can collect the keys to the property from the Real Estate Agent involved once the Real Estate Agent has been informed in writing by both parties that the matter has settled.