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A Western Australian agent has explained how servicing home buyers in the east coast eager to buy property in his state helped him rise in the REB Dealmakers 2023 ranking.
Rash Dhanjal – director at People First Real Estate, The Agency in Perth – is one of the top 10 dealmakers in Australia, according to this year’s ranking.
Mr Dhanjal surged from 38th place in 2022 to sixth this year after his settlements grew from 163 in the 2022 financial year to 214 in FY23.
He attributed this to undertaking increased buyer work since 2022 for home buyers in the east coast of Australia (including Sydney and Melbourne) seeking to purchase property in Perth.
“There’s a lot of people in Sydney and Melbourne buying in Western Australia now. We’ve seen this trending since COVID,” Mr Dhanjal told REB.
“So, we started putting systems in place to manage more buyers from the east and show them high-quality properties.”
This included conducting more off-portal deals, providing prospective buyers with updates about upcoming listings, and offering them customised solutions.
“For example, if sellers want to rent the property back from the buyers while they look for a new place, we will find an investor that will rent back the property while the seller shops for their next home,” Mr Dhanjal said.
“It’s about finding the right buyer at the right time to get the deals moving. We’re helping solve problems for our clients.”
While buyers are seeking high-quality properties at reasonable prices, vendors want to sell their properties at the optimal time so they can purchase their next property.
As such, Mr Dhanjal said he helps vendors find their next property while matching them with a suitable buyer for their current homes.
“We make sure that we connect two or three transactions together so that we can find a property for them, regardless of whether they’re looking at upsizing, downsizing, or changing locations.”
It has become increasingly challenging for buyers to find their next home, however, as Western Australia has continued to face a housing supply shortage.
Moreover, rising interest rates and mortgage repayments have made the Western Australian property market more attractive and contributed to the increased buyer demand, Mr Dhanjal said, as the median house price in Perth is around $550,000 to $600,000.
“A lot of people are looking to buy a family home, while investors in the east are attracted to the median house price and strong rental yields,” Mr Dhanjal said.
“That’s what’s really helped the market.”
While acknowledging that interest rate rises slow the market for a short period of time, Mr Dhanjal noted that the market corrects itself and buyers return.
His knowledge and experience spans across a range of property types, including property development, large green field land sales, strata properties, business sales, farming properties and prestige homes.
In the last 12 months, he said he sold a combination of houses, apartments and townhouses to both owner-occupiers and investors for between $500,000 and $800,000.
He and his team achieved their target of selling 257 properties in the last 12 months, a goal that was set by his son.
“My son is seven years old and loves maths. I asked him to come up with a target number and he said we should sell 257 properties, which we did,” Mr Dhanjal said.
“He’s given us our new target of selling 316 homes in the next 12 months. He says you’re only as good as your last sale and your last year. I think he’s getting trained early in the piece to be the next chief financial officer.”
As Mr Dhanjal and his team aspire to grow their settlement numbers, he advised new agents to nurture their clients and “help one person at a time” to succeed in their career.
“At times you might worry about your commissions and paying your own bills,” he said.
“But start by understanding that your client’s home is their most expensive asset and nest egg. Then, get out there and add value by being extremely helpful. The rest takes care of itself over time.”
To view the full list of the REB Dealmakers of 2023, click here.
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