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A whopping 91 per cent of Australian home owners believe the right real estate agent is important to get the best price possible, highlighting the value that good agents can offer their clients.
The data, published within the LocalAgentFinder Real Estate Sentiment Report, came from a survey of 1,003 Australian property owners.
According to LocalAgentFinder chief executive Richard Stevens, it’s evidence that Australians “still place an extraordinary amount of value in real estate agents to help them achieve the best possible outcome”.
The point was also reinforced by the fact that seven out of 10 respondents “nominated agent selection as stressful or very stressful in the context of the selling process”.
“Agent selection was seen as almost as stressful as holding open homes and preparing a property for sale including painting, cleaning and decluttering,” the CEO commented.
The survey also revealed the importance of online marketing for a property’s success; 87 per cent of owners agreed that having a strong presence on listings websites is a leading indicator of sale success.
For Mr Stevens, this suggests that Australians do have a good understanding of the power of online property marketing.
The research also revealed that one in five owners – 20 per cent – expects to deal with a real estate agent in the next 12 months, whether that be to value or sell their home.
A majority of this group has expressed an intention to sell – at 70 per cent of that cohort. Of the respondents that said they were considering selling, 25 per cent said they were definitely going to sell, 39 per cent said it was very likely, while only 16 per cent said they were just thinking about it or it was unlikely.
This statistic does not come as a surprise to the CEO, who commented: “It is unsurprising that many Australians are thinking seriously about selling, appointing real estate agents and considering lifestyle changes. The extended periods of time people have spent working from home recently has offered more time with family and removed long commutes to the office for many.
“This has impacted the importance they place on their home and the time they spend there.”
Renovations are also on the agenda for many home owners, with one-third of respondents – 33 per cent – indicating they are considering renovating in the coming 12 months, which Mr Stevens considered as another likely outcome of more time spent in the home.
“The renovation boom looks set to continue this year which is likely a by-product of people spending more time at home, or thinking seriously about selling in order to benefit from the market’s recent positive run,” said Mr Stevens.
And the market’s recent positive run is set to continue if home owner sentiment is anything to go by.
The report also reported a remarkably bullish perspective on the current property market, as held by survey respondents.
While 81 per cent of respondents believe property prices will increase across 2022, nearly six in 10 expect those gains to be greater than 10 per cent.
Just 13 per cent of those surveyed expect prices will fall.
According to the CEO, the survey results suggest that “despite the incredible price growth and sales volume through 2021, Australians remain quite bullish on the market’s prospects in the short term”.
“This confidence is likely generated from the remarkable resilience of the property market through the pandemic and many may feel that this is likely to continue with the easing of restrictions as Australia opens back up,” he concluded.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Grace Ormsby
Grace is a journalist across Momentum property and investment brands. Grace joined Momentum Media in 2018, bringing with her a Bachelor of Laws and a Bachelor of Communication (Journalism) from the University of Newcastle. She’s passionate about delivering easy to digest information and content relevant to her key audiences and stakeholders.
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