Soft spring conditions will trigger decades of referrals for agents

Australia's top agent says soft spring selling conditions present the chance to build decades-long pipelines, with sellers he represented throughout the GFC generating five times more referral listings than those he helped in hot markets.

“I started in real estate in 2005, three years before the GFC hit,” said Bright Estate Agents’ Tristan Rowland, the current REIA Residential Salesperson of the Year.

“For every vendor I sold for in 2008, 2009 and 2010, they’ve referred me at least 10 listings since. 

“But when I look back on the last few years in Brisbane, when the city has evolved to become Australia’s second-most expensive city, I received one to two from each seller.

“When selling conditions get tougher, people are more inclined to ask friends and family which agent they’ve had success with. When markets are hot and almost everything sells, that doesn’t carry the same weight.

“Agents who work hard now and prove their value, will set their business up for the next decade.”

Rowland said agents with disciplined processes, resilient attitudes, sharper marketing and stronger buyer and seller engagement would take market share from competitors who had been carried by conditions where multiple offers arrived within days.

Rowland said buyers were now harder to find in Brisbane, which was now following the price downturns affecting other east coast capitals.

Brisbane posted a 10.8% increase in dwelling values in the last 12 months. However, values have contracted 1% in August, according to Cotality.

Rowland, also a two-time REIQ Residential Agent of the Year, said he spoke with several principals who had never experienced the current market pause, driven by three interest rate rises and the biggest reforms to how property is taxed this century.

Current market conditions mark a 180-degree pivot from the same time last year, when the RBA had cut interest rates three times in the lead-up to the peak selling season.

“There are many agents that hibernate over winter, coming out to feast in spring and summer,” he said.

“Agents have stockpiled listings leading into spring, but they don’t have buyers on tap, like they did last year.

“In slower markets, around one in every three listings will mature into a sale each month. That means agents need to carry larger pipelines and continually move qualified buyers across suitable properties.

“Agents need to communicate more frequently with vendors, actively qualify buyers and become better marketers rather than relying on property portals and scheduled Saturday inspections.”

Rowland said property portals weren’t enough to get a sale across the line in a soft market.

“Last year, you could put a property online, hold an open home and have 10 buyers put in offers that weekend,” he said

“That isn’t marketing – that’s advertising into existing demand. Marketing is creating reach and finding the buyer who wasn’t already looking at your property.”

Rowland said agents also needed to educate sellers on what changing conditions meant for the length and complexity of a campaign.

While Bright Estate Agents’ average days on market increased from 23 to 42, Rowland said the headline figure masked an important shift in buyer behaviour. In most cases, the eventual purchaser had engaged with the property in the first, second or third week of the campaign, but negotiations were now taking between 7 to 21 days to reach an agreement.

Mr Rowland said the demeanour of agents was critical in tougher conditions.

“Altitude is about attitude. You won’t rise above the competition if you’re wallowing in excuses,” he said.

“Don’t use the local barista as your group therapist and tell everyone how terrible the market is.

“Your vendors, buyers and community are listening.

“The agents who stay positive, communicate relentlessly, solve problems and become the go-to agents in their marketplace.”