Local Market Update

Spring Aboard for Real Estate Success

The Olympics are over til Rio 2016, but the world record pace being set by Ray White Cranbourne has not let up.

The team again ended the month with over 40 new listings, a staggering figure for August considering many home owners still believe that the winter months are not a good selling period. The mix of properties listed was quite diverse with a good variation in prices and styles. New land listings were limited, but existing land stocks remained plentiful.

For the second consecutive month, rural and lifestyle properties being offered for sale remained low yet highly sought after. We expect this to change during the spring quarter as these properties dry out and access becomes easier.

Sales activity remained consistently high with close to 40 sales for the month. The team are consistently now selling in excess of one property per day and continuing to buck the trend of economic doom and gloom.

Buyers still have some choice in the market, but this will change with an expected influx of new properties in the traditional spring market. We are suggesting that many vendors, especially those who’ve been in the marketplace for between four and eight weeks, to really focus on presentation and price to secure sales before more stock becomes available.

An issue we have had to contend with over the last month is the tightening of lending criteria by banks. We are seeing the banks reducing their “wiggle room”, requesting more information, and being much more demanding with their criteria. We will endeavour to report on this further in the months ahead.

The rental department has also been busy with close to one letting per day. The rental market is also showing signs of strengthening as we enter spring with good numbers of attendees at open homes throughout August.

We are still seeing a good range of stock on the market, with several new estates nearing completion. Tenants are trending towards new homes, and in most cases paying only slightly more than for a much older property. This unfortunately is putting pressure on the older style properties available for rent.

The month also saw a number of our newer staff really get into the swing of real estate with lots of activity, sales and listings during the month. Watch out for Thomas Aloysius and Charles Raj in our industry based upon activity from the last month. The result for the month was very positive with a great contribution from every team member and some very consistent performances by all. Congratulations again go to industry stalwarts, Matthew Dewan (confirmed as the number 2 salesperson for the year to date) and Paul Ringeri (number 4 for the year to date) across the entire Ray White Victoria network. I’m also delighted to report that the Cranbourne office has climbed the leader board to number three office for the year…three places higher than the same time last year.

Great results by all! We are now working even harder to finish 2012 on top. If you want to get into the spring action, don’t hesitate to call the market leaders at Ray White Cranbourne.

Mark Guthrie
Director and CEO
Ray White Cranbourne