Welcome to our June 2023 newsletter. We will look provide updates on the current market and will have a look into Buyer’s Advocates.

Interest Rate Update

The RBA raised the cash rate by another 0.25% at its June meeting, taking the cash rate to 4.1%. This is the 12^th increase in the last 13 months. The Guardian reports that experts are predicting a peak RBA rate of 4.6% before potential cuts slowly arriving early next year.

The quarterly update saw the inflation rate drop from 7.8% in the December 2022 quarter to 7.0% in the March 2023 quarter with inflation stubbornly remaining at this level across April and May. This maintains the uncertainty across the market and with what the RBA will do in the coming months.

Property Prices

CoreLogic ran through property market with national values up 2.3% from their floor in February 2023, following a 9.2% drop from highs in April 2022.

Melbourne’s property prices are up 1.6% in the last three months and down 7.4% from this time last year. The bounce back in recent months can be partly put down to the low levels of housing supply against growing housing demand, with advertised listings down in May compared to April and down 15% to the same time last year.

Clearance rates are up and holding above 70% for the last 3 weeks, showing that there is more competition for buyers across the limited housing stock on the market.

Source: CoreLogic

Buyers Advocates

A buyer’s advocate is a property expert that works for the buyer and has their best interests at heart. They use a strategic approach to buying a property, which helps people buy the right property for the right price whilst also reducing stress, risk and any feelings of being overwhelmed.

I often get asked about buyer’s advocates (BA) and so below is a list of FAQs:

• What is their role?
  • To help a client purchase a property that suits their needs. This typically includes:
    • Determining what type of property and location based on requirements and budget
    • Initial identification of property and inspection. This includes off market opportunities
    • Due diligence
    • Negotiation and bidding
  • How much do they cost?
    • The range is large, but a typical fee is $16k for the full service
    • Some will offer a lighter touch service for less or even a once off fee for bidding or negotiating
  • Are they worth it?
    • This will often depend on a client’s circumstances. For example
      • If you have greater than a 20% deposit and live a busy lifestyle trying to juggle work and kids. Then yes, they can be hugely beneficial as they can do all of the groundwork for you and minimise the time you need to spend looking for property
      • If you are a first home buyers and every $ is required for your deposit, then unfortunately a BA while valuable is probably not suited
    • Are there any BAs you would recommend?
      • Yes, I have two that I recommend (depending on area and client type) and email me directly if you wanted their contact details