Out in force

Team Fetter/Sciola had possibly our busiest day of the year on Saturday. 

Buyers were out in force.

We had 62 groups inspect 32a Cromwell Road, South Yarra; 42 groups at 21 Stuart Street, Armadale; 37 groups at 10 Westbourne Street, Prahran; 25 groups at 40 Chomley Street, Prahran; and a total of over 200 groups across our eight open inspections. 

We promptly lifted the price guide on some of our listings due to strong interest. 

Why so busy? Many reasons. 

Firstly, we have some amazing properties on the market. Unique, architectural, turnkey. 

You tend to get inflated numbers inspecting properties that are magazine-worthy, as some people are just intrigued to see it or get renovation ideas. 

Secondly, buyers have been patiently waiting in the wings for months and months with limited stock and this was the first real weekend of substance in terms of open inspections in Stonnington after the winter hiatus. 

We tend to get a spike in activity in the first few weekends of February and August, with a new batch of buyers entering the market after the summer and winter break. 

Stock is still relatively tight, while demand seems to have been building all year, so we are seeing more buyers per property than the long-term average. 

This is also reflected in our online statistics, with several of our properties receiving between 5,000 and 8,000 views in the first seven days of launching… and that’s just on Realestate.com.au alone. 

To put this in perspective, 4,000 – 5,000 views for an entire four-week campaign is generally considered strong engagement. 

Of course, we can only speak to our own listings, which is a small sample size. 

Other agents have been reporting a mixed bag with some very quiet opens as well. 

Nevertheless, early signs are pointing towards a competitive start to the spring market, and it will take a significant amount of new stock to satisfy a very healthy buyer pool.

It is unlikely that supply will outpace demand anytime soon, especially considering the record immigration we are seeing into Melbourne. 

With strong selling conditions currently, many potential vendors are rushing to get in before the September holidays. Others will wait for October, which is typically the busiest auction month of the year. 

Although after the COVID madness of October 2021, where Team Fetter/Sciola sold 31 properties in a month, I’m not sure we’ll ever feel that busy again.

Feature Property: 40 Chomley Street, Prahran