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Buyer relationships often take a back seat to sales in the real estate world, but one Sydney agent reveals how the buyer-agent dynamic is crucial in overcoming turbulent market conditions.
For Matthew Everingham, who placed 13th in REB’s Top 50 Agents NSW 2023 and 11th in the Top 100 Agents 2023 ranking, the secret to success in any market conditions is simple.
“The critical part of what we were doing [last year] was really giving great service to our buyers,” he said. “For me, that’s always been the cornerstone to my success.”
Despite economic headwinds, including rising interest rates and soaring cost-of-living pressures, denting many Australians’ pockets and reducing the amount of buying activity in the nation’s real estate market, Mr Everingham was still able to complete 198 sales for a total value of approximately $417.4 million.
He admits buyers just want to “see good value” at a time good value has become as scarce as rain in a desert. In particular, buyers are attracted to good service, something Mr Everingham prides himself on.
“I always put myself in the buyers’ shoes; if I were buying, what would I like to see?” he explained, adding most buyers aren’t after agents to reinvent the wheel. Instead, they see “follow ups, doing as you promised, [and] having great ethics and values around how we treat people”.
And so, when the going got tough last year, Mr Everingham and his team were “obviously working those relationships well”.
“There were a lot of off-market deals that we did [last year]. Whereas, you know, as the market heats up and there is more stock on the market, people are less inclined to sell off-market,” he said.
While there is definitely a business element to the buyer-agent relationship, Mr Everingham insists he treats the connection as personal first, professional second.
“[I always say] you have two ears and one mouth, use them in that proportion. You listen to what people have to say, find out what is important to them, [and] what they’re looking for,” he said.
“It’s the old adage, diagnose what the situation is for them and then prescribe the right property or plan of attack if they’re selling,” Mr Everingham added.
Given no two buyers’ situations are exactly the same, the Richard Matthews agent revealed a term heavily utilised within his agency: “You’ve got to be a bit of a chameleon.”
“Somebody who’s in their 80s is going to be different to somebody who’s in their 30s,” he said. “From our point of view, you’ve got to deal with people based on their circumstances. Sometimes, for somebody who’s older and is downsizing [you need] a bit more patience. Same with a first time buyer, they’re not going to be as savvy as somebody who’s done this four of five times.”
“You’ve got to be a chameleon and step them through [the process] depending on where they’re at in life,” he insisted.
Despite admitting he disconnects from work during early morning training sessions, Mr Everingham shared his role sees him work seven days a week and remain “absolutely available” for clients 24 hours a day.
As someone with over 20 years of experience in the real estate industry, he advised younger agents to “work hard [and] give great service”.
“Make sure your reputation is impeccable,” he added.
“I’ve been doing this for a long time now and the success for myself and for the business is based around doing the right things by people and not compromising our values around service and the hard work ethic we have,” Mr Everingham concluded.
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