Despite the fact that I’m itching to move on and discuss something other than COVID-19, it still remains the most discussed topic in real estate circles right now.
It’s probably relevant to provide you with a weekly update on the market conditions given the confusion about where the market is at…and what the media are reporting.
I can tell you that buyer numbers and enquiries and still increasing and our current enquiry levels are approximately 80% of what they were a month ago.
In direct contrast, the number of appraisals has significantly decreased over the past few weeks and whilst we’re listing a reasonable number of properties right now, many of these are a flow on from decisions that were made 3-4 weeks ago…and we have many property owners now deferring their plans because of the perception that now is not a good time to sell.
As the days go by, there’s more evidence to suggest that now may well be a better time to sell than it might be in another 6 months when the ‘Job keeper’ handouts, the rental moratorium and deferred bank repayments all come to an abrupt end.
Our feeling is that the unemployment rate (which is now reportedly hovering around 10%) may then increase significantly and there will be many people forced to sell…the results of which might mean that the market could move from the best market for sellers we’ve seen in more than a decade to the best market for buyers we’ve seen in more than a decade – all in the space of 7-8 months.
Like everything, time will tell but we believe that there’s plenty of reason to suggest that this is where we’re heading.
Throughout my real estate career, I’ve always believed in running in the opposite direction to what the masses are doing.
When I was in my 20’s, I was itching to get out of the casino industry and start something new…something where I was more in control of how much money I could make.
The first personal development I picked up was a book called “How To Make $200,000 per year whilst Vacationing in Europe”.
Who wouldn’t be attracted by that title?
The book was a little light in theory and practical application but the first chapter was titled “The Crowd Is Always A Day Late And A Dollar Short”.
It’s the one thing I took from that book…to always think outside the square and move in the opposite direction to the way most people are moving.
It’s a theory that’s worked well for us over the past few years and I can’t help but think this is the way sellers should be thinking now.
If many have a theory that it’s a bad time to sell, by the time they realise that it’s actually a good time to sell, it won’t be such a good time anymore.
With interest rates so low, many distressed sellers have been able to hold on for a period of time but if they eventually lose their jobs, they might have no option but to sell.
Putting that aside, I thought I’d start to shed some light on some tips for selling in more challenging times – again, re-iterating that this isn’t where we’re at right now but if this is the direction in which we’re heading, it might pay to plan ahead if selling is on your radar.
Whilst many buyers are commenting that there’s very few fresh properties coming to the market right now, we’ve noticed that these same buyers are cautious in proceeding, conservative with their initial offers and quite picky about what things they’re prepared to compromise on.
So whilst it might not be a tough market at the moment, buyers certainly have the perception that it’s a tougher time to sell and given they don’t have the opportunity to rub shoulders with other buyers at open homes, there’s no social proof that the market is still moving except for ‘Sold’ stickers across property signs.
So next week, I’ll start a new topic…”Tips For Selling In Challenging Times”.
It’s great to see the number of new cases of this Coronavirus reduce significantly and whilst it’s frustrating, let’s hope we can all get through this tough time and return to some sort of normality in the not-too-distant future.
Until next week…Happy Isolating, Happy Social Distancing…and as always, Happy Listing and Happy Selling.