Hope you managed to dodge the Ekka flu this year. Every August it's the same story, cold, wet, and half of Queensland comes home with more than just showbags.
Speaking of showbags, it feels like buyers spent the last couple of weeks doing exactly that, handing over their money and their attention to fairy floss and show ride queues instead of open homes. We've genuinely noticed a change in the market these last few weeks. Enquiry's slower, open homes are quieter, and it's not just us saying it, we've been comparing notes with a few other local agents, and everyone's telling the same story. Which begs the question, are buyers just waiting for something to change, or is this the new normal now?
Here's a shock, the Reserve Bank held the cash rate steady this month. Even the economists didn't see it coming, which either means they're not as smart as they look, or they were all too busy recovering from Ekka to update their forecasts.
On a brighter note, spring's only a week away. Warmer weather usually means buyers want to get out of the car on a Saturday morning again, rather than rushing through an inspection to get back to the heater. We'll take any excuse at this point.
Did you know: There were 439 different showbags to choose from at the Ekka this year.
One thing spring does give us though, is decent presentation weather. And presentation is genuinely one of the biggest levers in a market like this. We reckon the gap between a well presented home and an average one right now isn't just a nicer set of photos, it's realistically the difference between $20,000 to $50,000 in the final result, sometimes more. If presentation's worth that much, what's actually stopping most people from doing something about it?
A tidy garden, a fresh coat of paint on anything looking tired, decluttered rooms, buyers notice all of it more than they used to, because right now, they've got the luxury of choosing between homes rather than fighting over the one available option.
Funny thing is, the same person who'll happily hand over $36 for a showbag full of stuff they didn't need won't forgive a dated feature wall or an overgrown garden. Sometimes it's the small things that's the difference between selling or just sitting on the market.
If you want a hand figuring out where to start, flick us an email and we'll point you in the right direction.
In non-Ekka news, RU Property Group finally has a website. Still a few pages being built out, but the basics are there. We've also uploaded every past newsletter into a section we're calling Two Cents, so if you've enjoyed this one, or missed a few along the way, you can go back and read the lot.
P.S. For the interstate readers wondering what an Ekka actually is, think Royal Easter Show, just smaller. Oh, and interesting fact, Ekka is short for 'exhibition.' We'll let you work out how we got from one to the other.