We’ve followed a pretty non-traditional trajectory over the last year when you look at the Australian economy. 10 interest rate rises in a row have taken our cash rate to 3.60%, dizzying heights that we haven’t seen since 2012.
With mortgages increasing and spending capacity becoming restricted, this is obviously going to have knock-on-effects on the real estate market. We’ve seen it a bit already with softening prices and reduced buyer activity.
The real estate market, however, follows traditions, and it seems not even the massive rate rises will disrupt those.
For a start, December and January are generally quiet. Then in February and March the market starts to hot up “as is typically the case ahead of the autumn selling season” according to PropTrack. That is exactly what’s been happening this year – the traditions are still being observed! Let’s take a look at the stats to put it into perspective.
Real Estate Market Activity
New properties did decline over December and January, which isn’t out of the ordinary given the quiet end-of-year period. Since then though, new listings in capital cities have picked up 26.6%, with the nationwide figure rising by 24.8%.
“The total number of properties listed for sale on realestate.com.au in February was up strongly compared to January, as is typically the case after the slower summer months,” said Proptrack Economist Andrew Moore.
What’s also interesting is that all capital cities have seen a year-on-year lift in the total number of properties up for sale. However, new listings are down somewhat in February compared to 2022, being 13.2% lower in the capital cities. This is probably because of a very busy end to 2021 and start to 2022 in the real estate market.
It’s important to remember though, that listings activity is currently higher than it was before the pandemic hit. While there might be uncertainty around because of the rising rates, the backbone of our industry is still solid, the fundamentals are still in place! Unemployment is down, international migration is up and rentals are hard to come by. The demand for real estate is still there as a result!
What Does It Mean for Sellers and Buyers?
With more listing activity in the market, buyers have more properties to look at and choose from. This is a good thing, because more stock on the market actually attracts more buyers. So if you’re selling, you get more eyes on your home!
What is key is having a real estate agent who helps you present and market your home to the best of its ability. They should be the kind of agent who doesn’t purely rely on the main real estate portals like realestate.com.au to attract buyers. They need to have their own methods and strategies to get your listing out there! The more people who see it, the greater the competition amongst potential buyers.
Getting Your Listing Out There
The Henry Wong Team® has devised various strategies to put your listing in front of way more buyers than local agents can achieve with the main portals. Three cornerstones of these strategies are:
- An expansive personal and professional network: Henry is a power networker, using the power of connection to grow relations with people across Australia and Asia. He builds these relationships on trust and integrity, giving himself word-of-mouth access to the networks of his network members! This helps give him a commanding marketing presence and provides amazing early traction for his property listings.
- Massive social media presence: Henry is the leading social media agent on the southside of Brisbane, with over 12,000 Facebook followers and nearly 5,000 Instagram followers. When he lists your property, it’s put in front of all those people. That’s a lot of eyes, and a lot of people sharing it with others who may be interested.
- Database marketing: Over many years in the business Henry has built up a large database of buyers contact details. Every listing gets presented to them before or when it hits the market. This gives it a big jump start and has often resulted in listings selling before they even go public.
Looking to Sell? Get in Touch
As we always advise, your decision to sell your home and move onto your next chapter should be purely based on your own life choices and motivations. If it’s time to sell, it’s time to sell… don’t sell because you’re uncertain of the way the market is going, or you feel the market is telling you to sell. Base your decisions on you and your family’s current situation.
If you’re at the point where you want to chat about selling, get in touch with the Henry Wong Team®. Henry would love to talk about where you’re at and help guide you along the path that suits you best!