One of our Buyers’ Agents inspected 15 properties today in Ryde, Epping, Eastwood, Chatswood, Lindfield, Killara and Gordon. This is a summary of what things are really like ‘out there’:
Under $1 million:
Open inspections are absolutely crowded. Literally there is a line of people waiting to enter the properties.
Often properties are significantly underquoted to start with frequent upward revisions in price during the marketing campaign. Agents are being careful to stay within the Office of Fair Trading Guidelines but do walk a very fine line.
Many properties in this price bracket receive multiple offers within 1-2 weeks of the property being listed and well prior to Auction. In many cases properties are sold prior to Auction because the buyers are bidding up agressively to avoid the uncertainty of Auction.
Auctions are well attended and generally have multiple registered bidders. If the properties don’t clear during Auction, they are usually sold very soon after. A recent auction had 10 registered bidders!
Between $1-2 million
Appropriately priced properties are selling. With the exception of several suburbs with limited stock, there may only be two or three prospective purchasers at each open. However, they are usually serious buyers who will act quickly to take advantage of this still ‘buyers’ market.
While prices in these suburbs have not suffered as much as some of the previously over-inflated foreshore suburbs such as Lower North Shore or Eastern Suburbs, they are currently flat to 06-07 levels, about 5% off peak levels (having already recovered about 5% from lows).
Properties that have extremely high demand usually go to Auction. However, most properties end up selling by private treaty as many Auctions are cancelled when vendors do not want to deal with uncertainties. Smart agents and vendors are not daunted by this and end up selling privately at decent prices.
Over $2 million:
Fewer buyers – but those who are out there are serious and ready to buy. Several listings are done quietly because sellers are only testing the market. If they can get a good price, then they will sell and trade up to a property that they have seen and liked. If they do not receive any good offers on their property, they will simply take it off the market and not trade up at this time.
If you have cash to spend, given strong tactics and patience, some properties can be purchased in this segment at heavily discounted prices.
About Oliver Stier
Oliver J. Stier is the Director of OH Property Group, a leading Sydney buyers agency. He studied Quantitative Economics and Finance at Cambridge University (UK), University of Toronto (Canada) and Princeton University (USA). In addition to being a licensed real estate agent, Oliver also holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation.
