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For the third consecutive year, Perth agent Vivien Yap has placed first in the REB Top 50 Agents WA 2023 ranking. She outlined how a three-pronged support system was key to her success.
Along with retaining her top rank in Western Australia, the Ray White Dalkeith/Claremont principal came sixth in the Top 50 Women in Real Estate ranking and 26th in the Top 100 Agents 2023 ranking.
Ms Yap not only paid tribute to her team for supporting her success, but she also credited Ray White’s work culture of cross-referring buyers.
She and her team cross-refer between Ray White agencies, particularly in the eastern states of Australia, she told REB.
“More agents working in the agency seem to be cross-referring buyers, so we sell a lot more that way. We do a lot of business with agents in the east, along with those overseas,” she said.
“So, it helps our entire agency a lot when we deal with overseas buyers who are intending to migrate back to WA. We’ve been getting a lot of enquiries from people looking to return to WA since last year.”
In addition, a fifth of Ms Yap’s business originates from referrals, which she said is the strongest source of business.
Customer service is at the heart of Ms Yap’s success strategy as she depends on it to receive referrals from longstanding clients, she said, along with informing the community about the properties she and her team have sold.
Her customer service proposition comprises a high level of communication with clients, and consulting with Ray White economists to study specific suburbs and streets she is selling in.
Ms Yap also provides vendor reporting to keep them abreast of the buyers on the market, their preferences and their feedback.
“We do some ‘coming soon’ launches because that allows us to refer to our clients in our database before we launch. We also potentially listen to the market feedback to give vendors a good understanding of the real estate landscape, interest rates and inflation, and migration rates in Western Australia,” Ms Yap said.
“I think educating our clients is like gold, and the nuggets of information we provide allows them to make a much better commitment to the next chapter of their life. Selling a home is a big decision for them and their family, whether they’re upsizing, downsizing or rightsizing. They’ve got to tick all the boxes, and timing is everything.
Navigating a tougher market
When asked how she is helping clients navigate a more challenging economic environment of higher interest rates and inflation, Ms Yap said buyers have been reconsidering their priorities and cutting back on expenses.
“If the buyer is highly geared, the current environment affects them. They may need to work extra hours or consider selling their investment properties to ensure that they can afford to upgrade their house,” she said.
“If they’re not highly geared, this does not affect them because the amount of money they owe is miniscule. Some people buy and sell because they are going through a separation, divorce, or other unforeseen circumstances. But we’re here to have good discussions and understand their circumstances so we can assist them.”
Despite maintaining her top rank in Western Australia, Ms Yap’s total sales value dropped from $335.7 million from 155 properties sold in 2021 to $230.4 million from 115 properties sold in the 2022 calendar year.
According to Ms Yap, this was due to a drastic fall in stock and days on market in Western Australia, because of which, vendors have been nervous about listing their properties.
Ms Yap sold a range of properties to owner-occupiers and investors for prices ranging from $500,000 to $17 million.
“We’re hunting a lot more for stock, door knocking on houses which we think would be suited to buyers, and asking vendors if they’re looking at selling so we can help them find their next property,” she said.
According to CoreLogic’s recent spring preview report, which outlined the flow of new listings added to the housing market over the four weeks ending 13 August, new listings in Perth are down 8.8 per cent compared with last year at 3,285 (down 1.9 per cent compared with the previous five-year average).
The stock of total listings is down 32.8 per cent compared to last year at 10,316 (down 44.9 per cent compared with the previous five-year average).
Ms Yap said that it takes around four times as long to list a property because she is required to find vendors another property to move into or investigate which suburb they would move into if they are selling their house.
Creating new pathways for success
As for her plans for the rest of 2023, Ms Yap said she is focused on recruiting the next generation of talented agents and enabling them to become leaders and form their own teams.
“I’m creating a springboard for our agents to leap off of so they can chart their own pathway to success,” she concluded.
Click here to view the REB Top 50 Agents NSW, Top 100 and Top 50 Women in Real Estate 2023 rankings.
