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In my 33 years in real estate, I have never seen the market so hot and so many opportunities emerging day after day.
We have terrific high clearance rates, and in Sydney this year, house prices grew by a staggering 21.9 per cent. The median house price has hit $1.5 million dollars or an increase of $27,000 every month this year. It is said that house prices double every 10 years, but when you compare this to the 2011 median figure of around $600,000, it has nearly tripled.
The median house price in Sydney in 1981 was a miniscule $80,000.
Thankfully, the record-high cost of a house these days is not deterring buyers who are taking advantage of historically low interest rates and a burning desire to buy before prices go up again. Many people have money burning a hole in their pockets because of not spending on overseas holidays.
Sure, there have been challenges in the lockdown periods with restrictions on home open numbers, social distancing, masks and so on. But we have handled all that with aplomb in a market where buyers are often frantic to secure a property.
We all have experiences of buyers offering OVER the asking price before seeing a property and others who make an offer as they walk in the front door.
Over the past 12 months, we have seen a dramatic change in the real estate landscape, with fewer people looking for inner-city residences as working from home became more prevalent. This has been a boon for those of us working in the outer suburbs of the big cities.
There has also been an increase in people looking at living in regional and scenic areas as they work from home and are looking to stay away from the pandemic hotspots in the cities.
Buyers are finding they can get a bigger home for the same price as a small-city residence in many of the regional centres.
By staying calm and professional, we have been able to benefit during these turbulent times while providing a great service.
Our industry will always be subject to external forces with which we have to deal, and of course, some of our own making.
Now, more than ever, it is essential for us to stay ahead of trends, and while we can never anticipate every eventuality, we can be adaptive and reactive. We certainly need to prepare for international buyers to re-enter the market as international travel and borders open.
As we approach the end of 2021, it may feel like the market is cooling. This is not the case.
There has been a slight downturn since restrictions eased across Sydney, but the real reason auction clearance rates have dropped below 70 per cent is the massive increase in supply. This is because of delayed stock hitting the market following the easing of lockdown restrictions plus the “traditional stock” that comes on the market at this time every year.
We are also seeing debt reduction stock and opportunistic seller stock flooding the market as people cash in on the historically high prices.
There is nothing we in the industry can’t handle, but more importantly, it is a perfect storm from which we can facilitate buyers and sellers’ dreams come true while providing exceptional service to all stakeholders of the transaction.
Adrian Bo is an agent, auctioneer, director of Ray White Park Coast, and founder of the Adrian Bo sales training academy.
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