Okay whilst I’m not going to go so far as to say that it is ‘fake news’ I do want to issue a caution in relation to stories circulating about record residential property demand. I absolutely welcome the positive sentiment but at the same time it is incredibly important to keep things in perspective.
The thing is real estate agents regularly face a very real dilemma. Agents work hard to secure new listings which is obviously key to their professional success but gaining the trust of a potential vendor involves delicately navigating the chasm that can exist between value expectation and reality.
It is totally understandable that a vendor might be eager to proceed with the agent who suggests the highest possible selling price because every vendor wants to achieve the highest value, but in my experience when setting vendor expectations it is imperative to be realistic rather than revolutionary.
And given current market conditions a cautionary approach takes on even greater significance.
Yes, there are properties and pockets of Sydney where demand is surging but like almost everything it is safe to say that there is nothing normal about the market right now. Certainly, there are buyers who are active in the market with some more determined and decisive than I have ever seen before. But there are equal, if not more potential purchasers, who are much more deliberate and who will baulk rather than pursue a property that may be out of their reach.
Yes there is activity and some great outcomes achieved for vendors that are absolutely worthy of positive headlines but equally the economic uncertainty associated with uncertainty around how, and for how long, we have to live with the pandemic has left most more nervous than ever before about over-committing. For those people gaining the confidence to purchase comes only after in-depth analysis, careful consideration, and the support of an agent ready to answer every question and address every possible property scenario so they feel empowered to proceed.
The upshot is there is never any guarantee that a record price can be achieved so vendors should make their decision to list, and ideally their decision on a listing agent, based on fact rather than false hope. The right agent will deliver the best possible price. Hopefully, it will be a record.