We trust that 2023 has started well for you and your family and we wish this coming year will be filled with joy, happiness and all the success in the world. As they say, sharing your goals is often the best way to keep you accountable and we want to share our Number 1 Goal for 2023.

Creating a WOW experience

Our goal for 2023 that we have already begun practicing is for each and all our team members to try to identify opportunities where we can create wow experiences for not only our clients but people that we come across in our day-to-day life. For us a WOW is any moment that we could create for our client that is unexpected and beyond our day-to-day duties that makes the other person feel WOW’ ed and made to feel special. It could be as simple as making a call to check up on someone, delivering flowers to celebrate an important occasion or helping someone physically.

Market Update

Despite all the negative press that you might have read in the news about the impact of rate rises, our figures based on buyer enquiry level and feedback have indicated otherwise. We are seeing that the property market remains very active and buyer enquiry is strong and in fact we are seeing multiple offers on most properties that we are selling. The good news is, that even though we are in a changing market where the market has adjusted significantly since the peak (start of 2022), prices at the moment seem to have stabilised and we are no longer seeing any significant price drops for most areas. However, we are still seeing the properties that require renovations or that are not in ideal locations (i.e., on a main road) spending a longer period of time on the market.

What is the initial forecast for 2023?

After recently reading an article by the ABC, it gave an interesting share and possibility for what is to come this year in terms of rate rises and house prices. Recent inflation figures have come in higher than expected which is not great news as this could almost cement a few more rate rises. There is a possibility by the time you read this letter we could have had another rate rise. Some economist believe that we will see a couple more rates rise that are likely to peak at a cash rate of 3.6% and in the second half of 2023 there is a good chance that the RBA could begin to reserve rate hikes if growth does slow and inflation eases as expected. Potentially if rates begin to decrease, buyers’ abilities to loan will increase and so will their confidence, which is likely to translate into growth in the property market. It is also important to note that the growth we saw from 2020 was unprecedented and we are not likely to see that rate of growth again for a long time.

Quick explanation of inflation and rate rises

Just a very basic understanding as we often have clients asking us about how inflation and rate rise is connected. In a simple explanation, the reserve bank raises the interest rates to get Australians to spend less, as the more Australians spend the higher the inflation rate becomes and in return the RBA is forced to increase rates where it will directly impact majority of Australia (via loan repayment) that eventually will reduce spending. The idea behind this is to get inflation to its target rate of 2-3%, whereas currently it sits at 7.8%.

As always please do not hesitate to reach out to us if you have any further questions or if you require any advice. Our team is able to help with advice on upgrading, downgrading, buying investments, valuation and property management in both residential and the commercial space. We also pride ourself on providing advice on property renovations and any recommendation for trades to use. We want to be the first point of contact if you ever have any questions or require advice about anything real estate.