Update from our CEO Milton Rendell
Christmas is almost upon us and nearly the end of another year. 2015 has been one of the more interesting years, I have seen in my twenty years of real estate, as we have had a number of things happen in one year. In terms of sales many have talked about the slowing economy and tough times but what does slower actually mean? Previously the market has been running at full speed and if we continued down that path, it would of greatly impacted future generations. Affordability in terms of real estate would go through the roof, making it more difficult for people to break into the property market. It was only a matter of time before the property market was going to slow down for everyone else to catch up.
We have seen rental peaks then a period of adjustment, with vacancy rates higher than what we have seen over the last few years. It was weird because as our vacancy rates were high, we saw a lag time on enquiries for sales, which is extremely rare to see happen all at once. This however, didn’t last very long but definitely was interesting to witness low enquiries and vacancy rates at the same time, where was everyone living?
What we have noticed is buyer enquiry has remained consistent for properties under the $500K mark, whilst other price ranges have been experiencing some inconsistencies. Interest rates still remain incredibly low and there have been rumours of becoming lower. We believe presentation and pricing will always have an impact on the market. Buyers at the moment have a smorgasbord of choices so it’s important to have a property stand out from the rest. This can be related to the rental market as well with Landlords who have made adjustments early have had greater results, quicker.
Sales, leasing and any other forms of business are governed by the ability to negotiate and people’s circumstance, no matter the market. For some, certain markets will benefit them better but in most cases it all boils down to timing and your needs.
Milton Rendell- CEO of Real Estate Plus