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This year, Barry Plant has made a move to shake up the quiet season with an influx of property listings.
The homes are all set to be auctioned over the upcoming long weekend, with Barry Plant Manningham director Scott George noting that the offices involved have had a “strong response from buyers”.
Thirty home owners signed up to list their properties with four Barry Plant Eastern Group offices, upending the usual seasonal quiet listing period. All 30 properties involved in this push went live on Boxing Day.
Mr George commented that it was a concerted effort to “capture the attention of buyers during the holiday period”.
As was to be expected, listings dropped through the end of the year, with 35,649 Melbourne homes advertised through online portals in December 2023, down from 38,589 in November, according to SQM Research.
And while this lull generally persists through January, Mr George said the agency felt it was a good year to “do something different from the competition”.
If attendance on the ground is anything to go by, it appears the strategy might pay off for the network.
“The first Saturday, we had about 30 groups per inspection when we usually have 20 groups per listing.
“We had whole families coming through as well as individual buyers,” Mr George said.
He highlighted that the agency wanted the properties to be listed on the market before anyone else. The sellers were also on board.
The agency reported a strong overall clearance rate of 80 per cent over 2023 and hopes to replicate the performance in 2024.
“We expect the market to be stable, and good homes, especially in sought-after school zones, should be walking out the door,” Mr George said.
“While listings will still be tight, we noticed they are opening up a bit more this year.”
“Buyer numbers have remained healthy, and the agency expected a good mix of families, downsizers and first home buyers to be active,” the agency head added.
The market is currently seeing a growth in investors due to the increase of rental prices, which currently sit at a median of $500 per week for a three-bedroom house.
Subsequently, this “has attracted investors to return”, Mr George said.
Bulleen, Doncaster East, Doncaster, Templestowe and Templestowe Lower are among the Manningham suburbs expected to perform well in 2024, according to Mr George.
“These areas continue to be attractive to buyers, and sellers here should do well again,” he said.
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