There is no doubt that the slowing of the property market has a major impact on real estate business. One of the biggest things, is that during a boom, there’s a number of new businesses that start out with the hopes of taking a slice of the market. When the market slows, that means more businesses fighting for clients – making competition tougher than ever before!
As a real estate agent, you are going to need to work harder than you have been working for years, to get new leads and retain clients. When there is a smothered market of any kind, competition between vendors gets fierce and the winners will always be the strongest, survival of the fittest. When it comes to real estate, it will all come down to how you deal with your current clients and how you intend to attract new ones.
Feeling the burn
Australia’s housing boom has been a bit of a pain for the government in the last few years, and while investors have been seeing huge benefits, most other people are beginning to feel the burn.
In 2017, house prices slowed right down, capital city rent prices became virtually unaffordable for the average income, and interest rates remained unchanged. There are predictions that there will be many interest rate hikes in the next two years, which could change many things.
Even though the Reserve Bank of Australia probably won’t change any rates soon, it certainly doesn’t mean your home loan interest rate is stable. A large portion of the money we lend from banks (which they need to also borrow from overseas companies) comes from the USA, where interest rates are currently on a sharp rise. What this means is that it will have a large effect on any money sourced from overseas companies, including your potential client’s home loans.
How you handle your business in 2018 will make the biggest difference in the next 5 years. However, even if you come out in front in your local area now, there will still be another pack of hungry agents nipping at your heals, so change the way you think about business, and find new ways to communicate to get leads.