Another week, another bunch of conflicting weekly emails arriving in your inbox from agents about the state of the market.
It’s little wonder that people are confused at the moment, the messaging to the general public is confusing to say the least, after all we live in the age of ‘alternative facts’.
What can’t be denied is that two days in particular this year have moved the needle. The first being February 28th when the war in Iran officially began and on the 12th May when the Labor government’s woeful budget dropped with a thud.
Side note, the fact that Jim Chalmers boasted this week that more companies were started in July heralding a new wave of economic growth should make us all blink twice. The treasurer is getting absolutely rinsed in the media for this as the reality is that the increase in new company registrations has more to do with people forming new companies in reaction to sweeping reforms on family trusts and tax law, NOT a new sense of confidence amongst entrepreneurs. So rinse away I say, seriously.
Right now perhaps the greatest puzzle to solve is what your property is worth in a market where the sands are shifting. I do this for a living and I never expected to be playing pin the tail on the donkey at my age.
The reason this is such important subject matter is that we are increasingly seeing people buy before they sell and they are basing their calculations on market appraisals. But here’s the problem with that. The market has fallen about 10% and many agents are promising about 10% more than what a property is worth leaving the gap in some cases 20%. That’s a dangerous spread.
I would urge people when analysing their property’s potential value to only use comparable sales that have occurred since the budget and not before.
Oh and if your house is on the market and another agent is ringing you saying they have a buyer, they don’t. It puzzles me that agents with no stock try to tell people what the market’s like and they aren’t even in the game.
In a market like this there are amazing opportunities, particularly for people looking to upsize but now is the time to have a good long look before you leap.
Let’s face it we all love being lied to. According to my personal trainer, I’m 6kg heavier than I should be but according to my wife I’ve never been in better shape, I love her for that, but I know who’s telling the truth (my wife of course).
At long last there are some wonderful listings coming onto the market and spring is just around the corner. If you’re running on Sunday, good luck.
Until next week,
David Murphy