New figures from an online sales platform show why pricing property has become an increasing challenge for agents throughout the course of 2021.
Openn’s first quarterly agent performance report of the new financial year reveals a 71 per cent increase year-on-year in the number of bids/offers per property, with 24 per cent of properties selling for more than $50,000 above expectations.
These results came off the back of some extremely low days on market, with the report highlighting that Australia-wide, the overall median time spent on market was just 20 days.
Despite spending so much of the quarter in lockdown, Victoria reported days on market average of just 13. Queensland was not far behind, with an average of 16 days on market, followed by South Australia, which reported a median of 18 days on market per property.
The Northern Territory (19) slipped in just under the national median, while Western Australia (21) and NSW (23) weren’t far behind.
“These results demonstrate why it is difficult for agents to accurately price properties right now; the market is simply moving so swiftly,” said Openn’s managing director Peter Gibbons.
Unsurprisingly, in light of those figures, clearance rates for properties sold through the platform remained strong this quarter, sitting at an average of 85.7 per cent for the quarter.
The ACT led from the front, reporting a clearance rate of 100 per cent, while South Australia was not far behind at 96.43 per cent.
Openn has used the opportunity of their quarterly release to highlight the work of some of the top-performing agents on the platform.
Simon Watts of Real Estate Central was a big achiever this period, taking out the top spots for highest total value of property sold and highest number of listings. With 24 properties available over the quarter, he benefited from the growing market by selling a home for $9.5 million.
Mr Watts has been using Openn since August of this year when they launched in the Northern Territory. He feels the new technology has contributed to his strong results.
“Times are changing, and the world is getting more and more digital. We need to take a hold of these new processes to avoid being left behind. People are used to buying things online via eBay or Amazon, and real estate should be no different you’re buying and selling; it’s a transaction. It should be transparent,” Mr Watts said.
The company currently reports 3,982 agents are using their product, with 77,000 registered users. The platform was listed on the Australian Securities Exchange in July.
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