The New Year is upon us and what a start to 2016 we have had. The overflow of activity from last year has been evident in January and based upon the start we have had it is clearly going to be another busy year ahead. Stock levels remained high over the Christmas break and although we have seen mostly consistent levels of new stock this year the interest from buyers and tenants has been high.
The sales department has been on fire this year and the expectations are for another strong year ahead. Interest rates look set to remain stable with the most likely scenario a drop again mid-year. Overseas markets and the world economy remain solid and the internal economy is strong even if mining has taken a dip. Immigration will continue to put pressure on the limited supply of homes for sale. Overall it looks like another strong year of growth although maybe not at the same fast pace as the last few years.
Listings numbers for the month were consistent with last year and on par for activity in this time of the year. The stand out for the month was Kate with strong listing numbers. Sales activity was very good with plenty of offers being taken and just short of a sale a day made for the month. A new personal best was set for the month of January with over $11 million of stock sold in the month. The stand outs for the month were Chaminda and Brandon with Paul also having a strong month. Peter also had a great result with his Lysterfield property selling with multiple offers after the property was marketed by another agent previously that didn’t get the desired result for the owner.
The rental department have also had an extremely busy start to 2016 with plenty of open homes, applications, lettings and new business. Our rental list hit over 50 for the first time ever as we commanded massive market share especially in the newer parts of Cranbourne, Clyde and Lyndhurst. This was a combination of the BDM department setting a personal best for new managements for the month and also the overflow of stock from last year and the Christmas break. The team have been busy this month with well over 200 applications being processed for the month. Despite the activity and the time of the year
our arrears numbers have been very low. This is a testament to the hard work of the property managers.
On a personal note Matt Ringeri and his wife Eliza welcomed their second daughter into the world in January. Macie Kate Ringeri is healthy and doing well, as is Eliza. Congratulations to everyone.
The indications are all good for another strong year in real estate and we look forward to assisting record numbers of new and old clients in 2016.