PROPERTY REPORT SEPTEMBER 2015
Contents State of the Property Market Market Statistics June Quarter 2015 Bespoke Finance Update
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#bourkesgivesback 4 Sprinkler Winter Ban
State of the Property Market BY ALAN BOURKE Looking at the current listing numbers for our local market, we see that sales in the City of South Perth dropped in volumes by 30% on the December 2014 quarter and 40% on the March 2015 quarter. Traditionally we see a seasonal uplift in the first quarter, however, we generally don’t see such a slowing in the second quarter. This means that with Spring fast approaching, stock levels in Perth are very high. Typically, many owners hold off until Spring to put their house on the market. The weather is milder and gardens are at their prime. We expect to see listing stock rise even higher and in today’s market conditions, that means we push further into a buyer’s market with less sales happening across the board. The sales strategy must be to price your home very competitively, style it with furniture (if it’s empty) and spend the correct amount in advertising to ensure you get the best marketing reach. Our Bourkes Magazine gets distributed to 15,000 local homes and is a great, cost effective solution for many of our sellers. We have sold homes as far away as Coogee from our magazine. Slowing rental marketing Our property management department is also feeling the pain of a slowing Perth market, and the challenge for us is to secure tenants for our vacant properties. The Perth vacancy rate is currently at 4.7%, meaning that one in 20 properties is standing empty. Our dedicated Leasing Manager Marie is working hard opening 13 homes on a Saturday plus holding after hours viewings to get our properties leased as soon as possible. All the while Bourkes is pushing forward with some very exciting projects, one of which is our new website, which will be real game changer for our firm. It is mobile responsive, so will work well on iPhone and iPad, devices people often use to search for property. We have tried to make our website the best real estate website in Perth, why not visit www.bourkes.com.au to see the change?
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