Housing

The majority of apartments and other real estate are sold with the help of real estate agents. The commissions constitute large amounts of money and one must be able to rely on the agent's professionalism when engaging in real estate transactions. Because of this, choosing the real estate agent carefully is important.

Using a real estate agent does not, however, free the seller from liability regarding possible defects in the property. These generally always fall within the seller's liability.

In real estate transactions the agent's services include at least the following:

• assessing the price of the apartment
• preparing the brokerage contract in a professional manner
• giving the seller advice and guidance on matters related to real estate transactions
• newspaper advertising and other marketing activities
• taking prospective buyers to inspect the apartment
• supplying information to prospective buyers regarding the apartment and the sale of the apartment
• receiving offers and, possibly, a down payment
• preparing the deed of sale

New ways to sell and broker apartments

The most common method of brokering and selling apartments is that the seller gives the agent a traditional brokerage assignment, or in other words, enters into a brokerage contract with the real estate agent.

In recent times the market has, however, seen the arrival of new real estate agents with less traditional approaches. Consumers should be careful in buying new types of brokerage services. Bringing sellers and buyers together still requires that a brokerage contract is drafted and the commission specified therein. Prior to signing the contract, care should be taken to clarify what the service includes compared to traditional real estate brokerage and what constitutes the costs.

One new way of marketing apartments is, for instance, not listing a traditional ”asking price” for an apartment, but instead a minimum price which is then used as the basis for making higher offers. Offers may be made to the real estate agent in writing or on the Internet. On the Internet, everyone can see which offers have been made in excess of the minimum price. An offer on a website is not binding on the prospective buyer in the same way as a written offer.

An apartment may also be sold through a "silent sale" and a buyer can earmark apartments. Earmarking is a way for buyers on the market to express their interest in an apartment, building or area. Silent sale, on the other hand, gives the owner of the apartment an opportunity to feel out the demand for his or her home.