Donnie the Dud vs. Larry the Liar 🗞️ Real Estate Market Wrap

0:44: Auction Results and Market Insights
1:49: Vendor Decision-Making and Market Conditions
3:23: Impact of Interest Rates on Property Prices
4:07: Traits of Effective Real Estate Agents
5:58: The Importance of Vendor Management
7:32: Political Influence on Real Estate Decisions

Transcript

Tom Panos: 0:01

Well, good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Good afternoon, good afternoon. Let's wait for this audience to build up. Not a lot of auctions for me today. I had said no to the bookings that had come in and most of those bookings that come in late in December, with the view that I was going to actually still be in Byron Bay. But I then decided to work and I had two auctions scheduled and one had no buyers on it whatsoever. So the agent called me this morning and said we better not go ahead with the auction, and that auction has been moved forward for another two to three weeks. So that's that one. And then I had another property in Bankstown which I actually live streamed on TikTok, and I can tell you that that was a bit of a fizzer. I mean, there was bidding but it ended up being $70,000, $80,000 short. And I have rung around other auctioneers and real estate agents that I speak to and they have told me that it's been a mixed bag. It's been a mixed bag and that some of the results have been okay. There have been no results that have been amazing, but it appears that vendors have accepted this is the state of the market and they're accepting offers and properties are being sold. So, contrary to what oops sorry, my phone went down there Contrary to what a lot of people believe, oops, contrary to what a lot of people believe, it's not the buyers that determine on whether a property is going to get sold.

Tom Panos: 1:55

It's actually the vendor, because the vendor turns around and accepts the figure, accepts the price. So that is why properties sell. The vendor drops the price and says yes to an offer, so a sale takes place. However, there is a cohort of vendors that are saying listen, I'm not going to accept this figure. In fact, the one that I did in Bankstown or Condal Park actually said that. They said that's fine, tom, we know that rates are coming down and when rates come down, the prices are going to go up and we're going to get our price, which I had to remind them, yes, but the one that you're going to buy, which you want to go out and buy out in Campbelltown, that will also go up. So you need to understand that you're going to be in a revenue neutral position. What you sell and what you buy, that changeover number is going to pretty much stay the same.

Tom Panos: 2:56

So the only thing I'll say is but if you really think about it. Interest rates went up 13 times, 13 times. Yet property prices were still going up for most of those 13 months. So to actually think that in February, when we have that rate cut, which on a million bucks it works out to being roughly hey Mel, roughly $50 a week saving, I don't think it's going to radically change things right. Because if you turn around and say to yourself, will one rate cut mean that we're off to the races with the market? Well, we had 13 rate rises, yet property prices still kept going up. So I think Demand and supply is a far bigger contributor to what actually happens with prices than anything else. Yes, it stands to reason. If rates go down, significantly, more buyers. Sorry, gang, I need to get a new cradle. This cradle keeps falling off the car, so I'll just do it like this, anyway. So that's the point.

Tom Panos: 4:07

Now I've got to say I can't help it, but I'm noticing that there's about four or five things that good real estate agents do that gets them business done at the moment. Let me run through them. The first one is they're not Larry the liar, larry the liar, and there's plenty of Larrys out there. There's plenty of Larrys out there and a few Larissas out there, for that matter, can't just say, larry, there's plenty of out there where they go in and they really stuff it up for themselves because they are too optimistic. They over promise price. They tell owners definitive language, we will get you that number. And then what they do is no vendor education, no offers, no vendor reports. You know why? Because they're embarrassed because they were Larry the liar at the listing presentation and then they don't want to become the contradictor at the vendor meeting. So their vendor management's appalling. And then what they do is they do all their vendor management right at the end in one go and they lose total credibility. I mean, it's just like a stand-up comedy show that you know a large proportions of agents the way that they list a property and then vendor manage it not the good ones.

Tom Panos: 5:39

The good ones, sort of, are sitting there and understand. When they're at the listing presentation they're telling the owners listen, there's no recommended retail price in real estate. We can sit here all night trying to work out what this home is going to sell for and we're not going to get that right. And you know what, mr and Mrs Vendor, there's no pressure to get it right, because what we need to do is not nail the price today. We need to nail the process today. We need to nail how we're going to go about getting that price. And I can tell you and David, can we get a tip in tonight's derby, the sky will be sky blue tonight at 9.30. In fact, david, I'm going home. I'm home now. I'm in the driveway, I'm getting changed, I'm going to the game. It's going to be an absolute cracker.

Tom Panos: 6:45

So the agents that muddle things around where they're overpricing it, they're poor in the vendor management, they're not transparent. They've got one story to the buyer, one story to the seller. Then they get desperate On the last day before the auction they throw off this sledge hammer. No, you're not going to get this price. The owner's upset, that is absolute rubbish. But I've got to tell you if you can actually do the other stuff right, you're in with a good chance to have a decent year in real estate.

Tom Panos: 7:17

But I will say I think there is a small number of vendors out there that are going to probably wait till after the federal election before they put their property on the market, with a view that they think there's going to be a Liberal win. And if there's a Liberal win, it'll be better for the market. I think there's a group of people like that. Anyway, ladies and gentlemen, I'm letting you know that I think the preliminary auctions are now out of the way. As of next week, we start having large volumes again, and the week after that it's going to tell you where we're really at. Stay well and make sure, if you're a vendor watching this, do not hire Larry the liar, because he's going to end up becoming Donnie the dud. And I'm going to finish this live stream now, if I can. You won't believe it. I can't finish it.