This month proved interesting as we expected to see a rush of listings. That didn’t happen.

But still, the market has been carrying more stock, caused by campaigns that launched at the start of the year. Something to watch.

Meanwhile, fluctuating clearance rates became essential viewing. We kept one eye on the gap between what gets reported on Saturdays, and the reality of the finalised figures. They can be a lot different.

With more balance in the market (something we predicted earlier this year) BresicWhitney CEO Thomas McGlynn says the current dynamic is making for healthy competition and a more level playing field.

“The good news is that vendors are still getting results and seeing strong prices, with this market giving sellers both confidence to sell and the opportunity to buy,” Thomas says. “We’re just not seeing the same velocity as we saw in 2021.

“This makes for a practical market to be transacting in.

“We’re not in a place where we’re seeing shaky prices, so our sellers are moving forward feeling confident and comfortable knowing they have options for buying as well.

“People are selling at good/fair value, then are able to buy at good/fair value, making the process a lot less stressful that it has been in the past 18 months.”

Something we weren’t expecting was our participation levels to remain so strong. We’re seeing stable numbers through open homes, steady active buyers and multiple participating bidders.

In terms of Sydney’s up-and-down clearance rates, they’re more reflective of seller expectations and buyer willingness than they are of changing values. Across Sydney, the properties that have been passing in at auction are usually a sign that sellers are still coming to terms with homes not being priced/pitched at the same level as they were in Spring last year.

With careful attention to building healthy competition for our clients this month, the BresicWhitney auction clearance rate was 81%. 

It’s obvious we’re back in a time where agents and strategy can make a huge difference.

See all our new listings here.

A milestone for rental homes

With many Sydney banks, big businesses and financial institutions bringing their staff back into the CBD for at least 2 days a week this month, we noticed numbers doubled at some open homes.

We also saw our rental homes go above 3000 properties under BresicWhitney management for the first time. Head of Property Management Chantelle Collin is predicting new energy for this space as we continue into 2022.

“We could be heading for a rental shortage,” Chantelle says. “We are seeing vacancy rates start to tighten and we expect to see more of this with people returning to Sydney and coming back to working in offices. This may be further impacted with the return of overseas immigration.

“With this increase in demand and lower supply, we could expect to see rental prices increase.”

During the COVID period, it was interesting to see our leasing business grow during a time when many rental operations were contracting.

“We were very well resourced to handle the pressure of the volume of properties that we had to lease,” Chantelle says.

“We increased the size of our leasing team and bolstered our support to the Property Managers, with technology already in place to allow us to adapt and respond quickly.

“This attracted more clients to engage us. Now as the Sydney rental market looks like bouncing back, we’re excited to steer people into a more positive space.”