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Buyers that have been sitting on the sidelines are now jumping into the property market, according to the high-profile auctioneer.
In a video market wrap, the Real Estate Gym coach and trainer — who also spends his weekends conducting auctions — shared the “quite astonishing” results he had achieved from the week ending 5 March 2023.
“Six sold. I would say probably one of my best days of auctioning in the last nine months.”
With some properties selling for $200,000 to $300,000 over reserve and a “great sale” for $4.42 million, Mr Panos said he is “absolutely convinced” the market has turned.
From his perspective, not only has the market stopped going down, it’s now “started to go up.”
“There is no way in the world some of the houses that sold today… would have [gotten those prices] three, four months ago.”
“I think that there’s been buyers that have been sitting on the sidelines and now have been jumping in,” he continued.
While six successful auction sales out of nine total auctions represent a clearance rate of 66 per cent, Mr Panos expressed the belief that it marks “the beginning” of those people sitting on the fence now “pulling the trigger.”
“To me, it’s very clear,” he continued, professing that the “average buyer” is now factoring in a number of future rate rises but is pulling the trigger regardless, thinking that they’ll “jump in now and buy.”
Forming the opinion himself that it’s “far better buying on the way down than on the way up”, Mr Panos acknowledged that “chasing the market up is a nightmare.”
“You get less to pick from; [you’ve] got people that are bidding against you and you make impetuous decisions based on fear of missing out,” he stressed.
As we move into the second week of March 2023, Mr Panos said “there’s still a little bit of calmness in the market.”
“But I have to say to you that six out of nine this week, three out of eight last week, seven out of seven the week before, I think there’s a lot of people out and about [that are] sussing out the market.”
In conclusion, Mr Panos conceded that right now, “the only thing” that is stopping people from going all in is “the mortgage cliff.”
Another individual who has noted stronger auction conditions of late is Stone's head of auctions and training, Peter Malouf. He has commented that of all of the network's auctions over the last weekend, they had "10 auctions where the number of competing bidders was between four and 24."
A Castle Hill property and another in the Lower North Shore suburb of McMahons Point both exceeded their reserves by more than 20 per cent, with Mr Malouf sharing that they "are seeing more of these sorts of results."
According to him, it's proof that "vendors who accept that the market is no longer at the heady levels of 2021 and 2022 will still see solid competition and strong sales on their properties."
"The other side of the coin is that buyers are recognising a return to value in residential real estate, especially in metro markets."
Mr Malouf said the strong results also show "an acceptance of interest rates and confidence that the market is at or very near the end of the downward pricing trend."
His and Mr Panos' comments follow those of Raine & Horne chairman Angus Raine in February, who expressed the belief that sellers are now just “getting on” with sales, suggesting that “the market cycle will turn again in 2023.”
He said it was pleasing to see vendors across the country still confident about the prospects of property “and are seeking appraisals and listings and a possible sale, most likely before the Easter break.”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Grace Ormsby
Grace is a journalist across Momentum property and investment brands. Grace joined Momentum Media in 2018, bringing with her a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Communication (Journalism) from the University of Newcastle. She’s passionate about delivering easy to digest information and content relevant to her key audiences and stakeholders.
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