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Buyers know immediately when they walk into a home whether a property is for them, making the next few months difficult for the industry, according to an expert in the space.
In a recent episode of Secrets of the Top 100 Agents, Marshall White Bayside director Kate Strickland explained why we will see an off-the-market boom as the crackdown on the property market continues.
Ms Strickland explained: “We’re lucky as real estate agencies to be deemed an essential service. So, we have to keep transacting and you can’t do it from your lounge room.
“I’ve always said to people one of the powers I have as an agent is about the psychology of buying and about the feel of buying. Until you step into [a property], you can’t get a feel for it. So, if we are going to have to do it by a video, it is going to be difficult.”
Ms Strickland believes the real estate industry has been flipped, as the industry “is in a state of retreat”, meaning agents need to be proactive.
“It’s going back to those desires and what is inspiring people who wanted to move four weeks ago, in a lot of situations, and desires haven’t changed,” Ms Strickland said.
This retreat will mean opportunistic buyers will leave the market, which will have a ripple effect on stock which could hurt agents’ bottom line.
“If you were downsizing and thinking you’re going to get a great price from my house I’ve been in for 30 years, and I’ll put that cash into super or retire and downsize into something smaller,” Ms Strickland said.
“If they have had an overnight up to 20 per cent drop on properties, why would you downsize at the moment because your percentage drop on a higher value is so much more substantial than on the downsize you were going to buy. So, you would just ride it out.
“My view on demographics is the baby boomers will sit tight. The 60-plus market will not move, they will hold if they are in a financial position to do so.”
The older generation holding will have a ripple effect on the younger generation who are not able to upgrade from their first home.
“Therefore, the next level down — which is the single-level terrace homes, apartments, villa units — they may not sell because the baby boomer demographic is not there to absorb them,” she said.
“If we domino down the line, if the apartment owners don’t sell then they can’t upsize because they don’t have a buyer, so then those mid-range properties like your three- or four-bedroom homes, there’s no buyers for those.
“This is what I am saying about this retreat at the moment. My view is there is very little stock available for buyers over the next few months, which is a worry for us as agents as well as those that need to buy.
“So, it is going back to off-market scenarios.”
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