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A targeted social media strategy and a burgeoning property market have seen Buxton Ballarat retain its lead in the REB Top 50 Sales Offices rankings.
The rankings, which were recently released by REB, revealed that Buxton Ballarat received the number one ranking for the second consecutive year after recording increases across several metrics.
The agency’s sales volume increased by over 65 per cent between 2020 and 2021 to $460.9 million, while settlement numbers jumped from 716 in 2020 to 1,173 in 2021 (the agency was ranked third for total number of sales).
Mark Nunn, director at Buxton Ballarat, attributed his agency’s performance to high buyer demand in Ballarat, especially from residents in Melbourne as well as across Victoria.
“Ballarat benefited a lot from people wanting to leave metropolitan Melbourne to move up closer to here,” Mr Nunn told REB.
Both owner-occupiers and interstate investors have been driving buyer demand in Ballarat, which is still reasonably affordable compared to other areas in Australia, he added.
“Along with investors, there are lots of people moving to Ballarat for the schools, the facilities, and the great lifestyle,” he said.
“It’s a lot more affordable to live here. So, if you’re working from home and you are working for a company that is based out of the city but you don’t need to be in the city, Ballarat is a good option. All you need is a good internet connection.”
According to the CoreLogic’s home value index January 2022 in its Regional Market Update, the median value of houses in Ballarat was $614,039, up 18.4 per cent over 12 months, while the median unit value was up 20.8 per cent to $381,731.
The CoreLogic Hedonic Home Value Index showed that as at 31 January 2022, the median dwelling price in Melbourne was up 14.9 per cent to $798,881.
The median value for houses exceeded $1 million in the Victorian capital city, while the median unit value stood at $624,158.
Reflecting on the tactics that have driven his agency’s results in the rankings this year, Mr Nunn said his team implemented a targeted social media strategy across various platforms, including LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube, which has attracted external home buyers who might have shown interest in the Ballarat market.
“We’ve got a program that can specifically target out-of-area buyers to expose our Ballarat properties to those buyers,” he said.
“We found that even if the house doesn’t exactly meet a client’s requirements, it grabs their interest and prompts them to make contact with our office. We can then talk to them about other options that may be available for them.”
As the Ballarat property market has grown, Buxton Ballarat has also recruited additional staff over the past 12 months.
Mr Nunn has predicted further growth in the Ballarat market, both in prices and the housing stock every year.
“Because they’re releasing more land and building more houses in our area, the catchment area of the Ballarat greater region is getting bigger,” Mr Nunn said.
“Therefore, we think there’s going to be more uptake over the coming years.”
In addition, the agency embraced digital strategies to adapt to the disruptions and restrictions amid the coronavirus pandemic, including conducting Zoom meetings for appraisals, virtual tours and 3D imaging for inspections, Real Time Agent for paperless contract exchange of properties, and online auctions.
“With the stop-start nature of the pandemic and the lockdowns, we definitely had to adapt a lot last year,” Mr Nunn said.
“In an environment where a lot of people couldn’t get out of the area where they lived and do property inspections, these strategies definitely allowed them to still transact in our marketplace. We tried to change as quickly as we could as those hurdles arose, and kept pushing through, so it worked out quite well.”
For other sales offices seeking to replicate some of the agency’s results, Mr Nunn recommended that offices provide a high level of service and establish a digital presence that allows clients to find information quickly and easily.
“Your marketing needs to look superior over your competitors. If your marketing is not up to scratch, you’ll fall behind,” he said.
To download the full REB Top 50 Sales Office rankings and report, click here.
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