For the past few months, a number of property markets in Australia have been trading flat or trending down.

In fact, many property experts are now saying it’s a buyer’s market. And as a result, buyers can now afford to be more choosey about selecting a property to buy and don’t feel the same pressure as they might in a strong market.

In our business, we have seen a couple of interesting trends emerging during this year which are important for all agents to be aware of:

1. Buyers will still engage if you give them the right support.

2. Vendors and agents might be reducing the wrong selling costs in these market conditions.

What’s the right support?

Put simply, buyers are now less likely to pay the full price for an inspection report. Over the last few months we’ve seen a fall in average buyer engagement levels when our inspection reports are available for the standard fee (both Strata and Building & Pest reports).

Initially we thought this was a normal outcome because of the slowing in the market. But when we analysed the stats from our Open Access reports, we discovered something curious:

Because buyers can access our Open Access reports for a much lower fee (as the vendor has contributed to the inspection cost), buyer engagement levels have remained consistent (actually slightly higher) with levels experienced during much stronger market conditions.

Importantly, buyers still pay a fee to access our service, indicating they are serious enough about the property to go through a proper due diligence process.

The key message is that buyers still want quality information but making it easier for them to get it (both availability and cost) is even more important in the current market. Conversely, you might be losing buyers if you aren’t offering lower risk access to quality reports.

Pressure on marketing budgets.

This is not new, but the decisions you make on which costs to trim might be more important than you think.

Days on market are now higher in many cases and marketing campaigns are getting longer too. Therefore, those costs that increase with the length of the campaign, e.g. staging furniture, will be more expensive. On the other hand, one-off marketing costs become more valuable in these market conditions.

We understand that many agents have standard marketing elements that they don’t want to mess with (or are obliged to use through agency group commitments). As a result, we are seeing some agents less inclined to engage their vendors on inspection reports as a way of managing marketing campaign costs. However, while it is an additional cost, the report will add value throughout your campaign (it’s a one-off fee) and will help you avoid missing out on buyers as discussed above.

Those agents who make this a higher priority in their marketing are reaping the rewards by getting more serious buyers for their vendors.

How we can help?

Our service can make a big difference in the marketing and subsequent sale of your listing.

Find Out More

Best Regards,
Michael Ferrier

At EYEON Property Inspections, we help you buy and sell with more confidence.