Rich Harvey

So, as you're going through the property, that agent will be listening with a very clued ear to go, are you going to be doing oohs and ahhs as you walk through the property and to see if you've got any kind of emotional connection to the property.

Typically, an agent should be asking prospective buyers a bunch of questions like, what did you think of the home?

Do you think it'll suit you?

And on the way out, they should be asking you, what do you think this property is worth?

But if I'm really interested in the property, I'm not going to give the agent an answer there on the spot.

I'm simply going to say, look, I think this property could really suit my client, pique their interest, right?

But I'll say to them, I'm going to go back to my office and I'm going to do some analysis and then I'll give you a call and potentially give you an offer if we take it to the next level.

What you're doing is you're gauging what sort of method the agent is using with you in that tactic and you're gauging their professionalism in that process.

Craig, it's all about being well-educated about the market, and that makes you a formidable foe in the negotiation strategy.

If you walk in and you've got no idea about the market, you're going to be eaten for breakfast by the agent.

And it's quite daunting for an agent to enter a conversation with a potential buyer only to discover that you actually know more about recent sales than they do.

So as I've said many times before, you've got to go to the open homes, go to the auctions, as many as you can, read the local listings, keep track of posts, articles, anything about that suburb, consume as much data as you can on what's driving prices.

And here's a couple of things you need to know.

Number one, you've gotta know median prices in the key suburb you're looking at and the surrounding six or seven suburbs.

You've gotta know the predominant property type that's within each suburb and what a three or four bedroom house will sell for, for example, in that area.

You've gotta know the gap between apartment prices and freestanding houses in that suburb.

You've got to know the demographics, who's moving in, who's moving out, what types of downsizes, upsizes, family sizes there are.

You've got to have a wealth of knowledge that's going to put you in the best position to make you a daunting foe in that negotiation strategy.

Look, we've talked about determining market value, but do you go in directly at what you think it's worth?

If you think the house is worth one and a half million, do you go in at one and a half?