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Jan 18, 2024
Rent Bidding
Early this year, the West Australian parliament are likely to pass into law changes to the Residential Tenancies Act designed to further protect the interest of tenants. Some of the changes bring WA into line with other states where substantial tenant-friendly changes have altered tenant-landlord relationships and, in some cases, have deterred investment and pushed up rents. Many of the changes will be relatively benign, such as rent increases limited to no more than every twelve months (currently it is a minimum of six months). None of the laws encourage investors to further supply rental stock by improving protections for landlords from tenants that breach the lease agreement and / or wilfully damage the property. One of the changes will be to make it illegal for a landlord (or their property manager) to encourage a tenant to offer more rent to secure a lease. Known as ‘rent bidding’, in a tight rental market it is common for tenants to offer more than the advertised rent for a property. A ban will not prevent a tenant from offering more rent than advertised. In other states, rent bidding is already banned, but the outcome of the ban has failed to afford any additional benefit for tenants. In the current market, most properties receive multiple applications to rent with many tenants prepared to offer more than the asking rent to secure the property. Under the current arrangement, tenants will typically seek guidance from the leasing agent as to what constitutes market rental value and without specifying the details of competing applications, tenants are able to secure a lease by offering a modest amount above the asking rent. With a ban on rent bidding, tenants will be ‘flying blind’. The leasing agent will have to be silent on proffering any advice as to the level of competition, or where the market sees value. What has occurred in other states is tenants are offering substantially more than the asking rent because the leasing manager is unable to guide them where fair market rent might lie. I am told desperate tenants in NSW will offer 20% above asking rent where a 5% increase would have been sufficient. Already, property managers are advertising asking rents with a “From” in front. This makes it more difficult for tenants to determine fair market rent, especially once rental bidding is formally banned. Mostly, landlords are seeking quality tenants at a reasonable rent. Many will choose the best tenant over one offering the highest rent. Property managers have a duty to their landlord to secure the best possible lease outcome for their client and the rent achieved is but one component. Banning rent bidding will do nothing to further the plight of tenants already dealing with a highly competitive, stressful market of limited supply and rising rents. Governments should spend their time thinking about how they can get more rental supply into the market by actively encouraging property investors. Everything else treats the symptom not the cause and rents will continue to rise.
Jan 10, 2024
Missing Out
Licensed real estate agents are regulated by the Department of Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety (DMIRS) with consumers able to seek advice and lodge complaints about agents’ behaviour to that department. The Real Estate Institute of WA (REIWA) also has a community hotline where consumers can obtain real estate advice when dealing with a member agent. Current market conditions of savagely low supply and strong demand for both sales and rentals often leads to a spike in enquiry with REIWA and DMIRS, especially from tenants and buyers that have missed out on the opportunity to either buy or rent a home. Most are just wanting clarification of the process. When representing their vendors and landlords, agents have a role to play in ensuring their communication with interested buyers and tenants is clear and thorough, especially in circumstances where there is strong competition to either buy or rent the properties they represent. In the first instance, agents should make it clear to buyers and tenants that there is competition for the home. This can include asking prospective buyers to sign a document that acknowledges an awareness that their offer is one of many and that they’ve had sufficient opportunity to put forward their best offer. Similarly for tenants, the sheer volume of visitors to a home open should indicate that renting a home will be competitive. It is unlikely your application to rent will be the only one submitted. Local agents mostly manage competition amongst buyers and tenants in a professional, process-driven manner. However, it’s worth noting that agents are not obliged to inform you that there is competition for a property, albeit best practice to do so. Buyers and tenants ought to remember the agent is duty bound to act for their client and is not working in your interests. Agents are merely obliged to be honest, ethical and fair in their dealings with tenants and buyers. Despite this, buyers and tenants who miss out on a property are often quick to blame the agent. Some will lodge formal complaints against an agent even though the agent is simply discharging their responsibility to their client in seeking the best price or highest rent. A recent experience from a buyer who was repeatedly told a property would likely sell for above $900,000, was aware they were in competition and still insisted on submitting an offer for $875,000, was livid when told someone else had paid $975,000. Similarly, a tenant who offered $80 per week above the asking rent lodged a formal complaint against the agent when their landlord accepted an offer to lease $130 above the asking rent. Higher rents and selling outcomes are part of the natural market in action. Agents understand that buyers and tenants are trying to secure a property for the lowest possible price or rent, but it is not the agents’ role to achieve that outcome.
Dec 14, 2023
Christmas Markets
Around this time of the year, property markets normally begin to slow in anticipation of and planning for Christmas festivities and the summer holidays that follow. This year is shaping up to be different with buyer enquiry remaining strong and sellers committing to coming to market during the Christmas period. Property values across Australia continue to grow, spurred on from the demand side by higher migration levels and low stock levels. The federal government have already predicted a 115,000-property shortfall by mid-2024 and with dwelling commencements stubbornly stuck below the long-term average, there is little relief for buyers on the horizon. The Real Estate Institute of Australia released the comprehensive September quarter Market Facts report this week, revealing Australia’s median house prices rose 3.2 percent in the past twelve months to rest at $990,807. Perth’s median house price was at $595,000, the cheapest major capital by some margin. Sydney’s median house price as at September 30th was an extraordinary $1,578,000. The remaining capitals (aside from Darwin) returned a median house price of between $710,000 (Adelaide) and $934,000 (Melbourne). With such a yawning gap between our local market and eastern Australia, there is a sense of inevitability that prices here will continue their upward trajectory and the Christmas season will have little impact in quelling buyer and seller enthusiasm. Most agents I speak with expect a flurry of fresh listing activity in January, with new stock to be taken up from buyers bereft of choice. A recent property my agency sold received 20 offers. Another 15 offers. That’s 33 buyers that have committed to purchase, have missed out and will keep trying until they succeed. It is going to take some time for this buyer pool to deplete given stock levels remain below the five-year average, and new buyers keeping entering the pool. Meanwhile, rents continue to rise up to $581 per week nationally and $550 per week in Perth for 3 bedroom homes. Returns on investment for buyers in Perth are at 15.1 percent, leading the nation by some margin. Investors will take note of these numbers and continue to grow as a buyer cohort adding further pressure to our undersupplied market. This year, there will be no Christmas slowdown and buyers holding back waiting for the Santa Claus to deliver a market correction are likely to find their Christmas stocking empty.
Dec 7, 2023
What’s in Store for 2024?
With Perth’s property market growth leading the nation as at the end of last year, some property commentators are predicting a slow-down in capital gains as the year progresses. Returning a 13.7 percent growth rate in property values to date 2023, Core Logic data showed Perth ahead of the rest of the nation in growth with Brisbane the next strongest market performer with 10.7 percent value gains. Perth is at its market peak reaching a median dwelling value of around $650,000 at the end of last month. Yet, despite Perth’s strong market performance, our local market remains the most affordable major capital city aside from Darwin in terms of median prices comparative to average family incomes. It is this relative affordability, strong economy, full employment, an uplift in migration intakes and limited housing supply that will continue to drive our market forward. Whilst it is always difficult to accurately predict property markets, in the absence of significant and unexpected market shocks, WA residential property is likely to put in another strong showing in 2024 with 8 to 12 percent gains predicted. Turning to the rental market, with vacancy rates below 1 percent for most of 2023 caused by a lack of housing supply, it will take some time to deliver enough homes to the market sufficient to bring the rental market back into balance. Rents have risen sharply since mid 2020 after a decade of falling and stable rents, rising a further 13 percent last year. Strong demand from incoming residents and low supply remains the core cause with little relief in sight for tenants struggling to secure suitable accommodation. With less than 2000 properties listed for rent on reiwa.com, supply constraint due to a lack of investor buying activity over the past decade has seen house rents move from $350 per week in 2017 to $600 per week today. Investors have come storming back to the Perth market as they exit the overheated east coast city markets and look to capitalise on the prospect of price growth and nation-leading yields. As more supply comes to market, rents could moderate this year but further rent rises of at least 5 to 10 percent is likely thanks to the slow construction cycle and lacklustre dwelling approval numbers. Overall, WA is the place to watch in 2024 as its property market continues to expand from a base of relative affordability.
Nov 30, 2023
Giving at Christmas
Giving at Christmas The National Hotel and St. Patrick’s Community Support Centre held their legendary Long Table Christmas Dinner on Saturday 24th November and raised much-need funds to assist those without a place to call home. A shout-out to Karl and Janine Bullers for their inspiration. You see evidence of homelessness everywhere every day. I hear that Fremantle has a resident population of about 120 rough sleepers. Such is the confronting nature of homelessness that some of us opine that those in authority must ‘move them on’, put them elsewhere to make our lives less confronted. But this just locates the problem elsewhere. Family break-down, domestic and family violence, job-loss, addiction and untreated mental health issues all contribute to homelessness and most of us can’t imagine ever being amongst their number. It has been said we’re all a handful of catastrophic life events away from homelessness. It is not an incurable disease; it is rarely a choice and it can be overcome. There are dozens of organisations whose sole purpose is to help transition the homeless back into secure, affordable housing. Local heroes like St Pat’s do extraordinarily good work in supporting Fremantle’s homeless. Yet St. Pat’s is constrained by funding, they never have enough beds to house the needy and, amongst many other organisations, can only do so much with their small army of volunteers. REIWA members, through the Community REInvest program provide financial help to the Salvation Army’s various homeless assistance measures. So far, REIWA agents have donated more than $1,200,000. Local agents, Caporn Young, White House and Dethridge Groves support this program and I encourage other REIWA member agencies to join. Current government social housing systems mean eligible applicants can wait up to eight years to get into suitable housing. According to various sources, 60,000 households need social and affordable homes in WA, yet despite the overwhelming need for housing, 1 in 6 homes nationally remain underutilised. The state government has pledged to build 3300 more social homes within the next four year which should help but this is really only playing catch up. There are already 8,000 fewer privately owned investment homes in market now than a year ago. For every government-supplied home, mum and dad investors supply ten. Part of the solution to finding affordable homes for those on struggle street is to incentivise these modest investors. How about removing stamp duty for those that commit to buying affordable rental properties or guaranteeing attractive rent returns in exchange for providing affordable rents. Perhaps early access to superannuation with guaranteed buy-back at pre-determined returns into the future. The great work of benevolent groups is laudable, but investors need more encouragement in solving homelessness.
Nov 30, 2023
To Auction or Not to Auction
Why Auction my Property? With property listings across the Perth metropolitan area dropping below 5,000 whilst property transactions tack 25 percent above the five-year average, there’s little doubt that the current ‘sellers’ market’ conditions are likely to prevail for some time. With strong demand for quality homes our most popular method of sale, private treaty, normally attracts multiple offers and because buyers are making offers ‘blind’, it is possible to have a large gap between the best offer and the one second in line. The auction process is different, of course, with buyers unlikely to bid much above a competing buyer. It is reasonable to conclude, therefore, that selling by private treaty could deliver superior outcomes than an auction in the current market. But this is not necessarily the case. In such a strong market, buyers in open bidding competition know precisely what they need to pay to prevail at auction. With private treaty, buyers will often hold back from their maximum price hopeful they’ll get a chance to further negotiate with the seller. The seller may choose to accept the best offer, perhaps unsure if they’ve extracted the best price. At auction, the seller knows they’ve extracted the best possible price from those bidding in open competition once past the reserve. Other benefits to sellers include a cash, usually unconditional contract at auction, a settlement period that suits their needs, a healthy deposit and the delivery of what is the very definition of fair market value. The “no price” marketing strategy in the lead up to the auction day is also beneficial as it captures all possible buyers, including those that may not otherwise consider the property if on the market at a fixed price by private treaty. The “start low, end high” nature of auctions also discharges agents’ fiduciary responsibility of obtaining the highest possible price. The auction process also “shakes the buyer tree” and reveals all possible buyers active in the market. Once past the reserve price, a skilled auctioneer will extract the best possible outcome and if two or more competing and motivated bidders are participating, the end result is likely to well exceed the sellers’ expectations. An auction campaign also gives sellers the chance to extract strong offers prior to auction day as some buyers may fear a ‘bidding war’ on the day of auction. And most properties that fail to reach reserve price on the day and pass-in sell in the days following. To give themselves the best possible chance of selling well at auction, sellers ought to set a realistic reserve price and talk to their auctioneer about having some flexibility around the reserve and how this may work on the day. When selling be sure to ask your agent about all the options when coming to market as there’s benefits with all methods of sale, including an auction. It’s a matter of choosing a method that suits your needs and circumstances and agents should be across the details of all options.
Oct 25, 2023
Real Estate Ethics
As a junior sales agent many years ago, I lost a listing to a competitor. The seller’s rationale surprised, telling me, “We really like you, Hayden, and the other guy makes my skin crawl, but we reckon he can get us the best price.” The idea there was a disconnect between being a good person and achieving the best market price was difficult to comprehend then as it is today. Thankfully, the two are not mutually exclusive. The Governance Institute of Australia undertakes an annual survey of Australian society’s perceptions of ethics across the major occupational sectors. Unsurprisingly, nurses, veterinarians, doctors, teachers, ambulance and fire services all rank in the top ten of ethical occupations. The bottom ten are made up of lawyers, politicians, senior executives and fund managers. Real estate agents appear third last with 46 percent of those surveyed suggesting we were ‘somewhat unethical or very unethical’. Remarkably, the militant Construction Forestry Maritime Mining Energy Union ranked higher in ethical behaviour than real estate professional associations. Clearly, the community judge us and those who represent our interests (as President of the REIA that includes me) harshly. With such a poor ethical reputation, it is surprising that many real estate agencies survive as long-standing small businesses. It’s hard to imagine a local restaurant, retail shop or other cottage business that suffered such a poor reputation surviving very long. As a local real estate practitioner and employer, your reputation is everything. Damage your reputation through misconduct in the market and word quickly spreads that you’re untrustworthy. Most local agents enjoy a solid reputation, attract repeat business and have serviced their communities for years. For example, a quick Google search of Fremantle’s top three real estate agencies boasts 418 reviews at an average of 4.6 stars. And ask random folk about real estate agents and the reply is often, “they’re terrible, but mine’s great!”. So, why is there a disconnect between community perception and most users of real estate services? It's noteworthy that during peak COVID in 2020, the ethical standing of agents improved, a result of our sector’s management of rental moratoriums and tricky selling environment. Current market conditions where buyers and tenants are disadvantaged can lead to a perception that agents are acting unethically. Mostly though, it is our fiduciary responsibility to work in our client’s best interest that impacts community perceptions of an agents’ ethical conduct. Being duty bound to achieve the highest possible rent and/or market price for a property in times where supply is tight and demand is high, impacts those on the buying and renting side. It follows that a buyer or tenant can feel ‘forced by the agent’ to pay more and that is perceived as unethical behaviour. Perception or reality, the work of real estate agents requires greater transparency. The community, especially younger people, expects more from us in how we conduct our business. We can find reasons and get defensive about it, but the reality is we need to do more in this space to win the hearts and minds of the communities we serve.
Oct 12, 2023
Australian Housing and Urban Research: A Real Estate Perspective
Real Estate's Role in Housing Supply The Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute's (AHURI) annual conference is a crucial platform for addressing housing and urban planning policies, primarily supported by government funding. Surprisingly, the real estate sector has remained largely on the sidelines of AHURI's efforts. This is somewhat perplexing, considering that real estate represents and plays a pivotal role in approximately 97% of all homes in Australia. Real Estate's Limited Participation In a gathering of roughly 80 speakers at the conference, only a handful of real estate agents, including myself, were in attendance. Instead, the majority of speakers and participants hailed from the not-for-profit social housing sector, dedicated to supporting marginalized Australians who struggle to find stable housing. Housing as a Fundamental Right Stable and sustained shelter is a fundamental human right. Even as the housing market is a capital asset class, every Australian deserves a place to call home. Currently, about a third of Australians own their homes outright, another third hold mortgages, and the remainder rent. It's essential not to forget the approximately 160,000 individuals, as of the last census, who are without a home. The Global Housing Supply Challenge Participating in an international panel discussion on rental markets and systems, a common theme emerged — there's a significant housing supply problem. In the United States, there is an estimated four million home shortfall to meet demand. In Australia, we are projected to be 110,000 homes short within the next year, given the current pace of construction and migration trends. Rental Market Dynamics Our rental market is primarily supplied by ordinary Australians, with the majority owning a single investment property. However, this group of property owners has been facing challenges. Since the peak of COVID-19, investors have had to deal with rental moratoriums, rising mortgage costs, increased maintenance and insurance expenses, substantial changes to tenancy laws, higher land taxes, and criticism from various quarters. Reevaluating Housing Policies There appears to be a shift away from relying heavily on individual investors to supply rental homes. With the current supply crisis, there is an urgent need for housing policies that actively encourage investors. The Role of Government Housing While there's a call for more government housing, these should primarily serve those genuinely unable to participate in the open housing market. It should not be the ambition of ordinary Australians to receive taxpayer-funded housing. Build-to-Rent (BTR) Sector The BTR sector is often considered the "supply saviour." However, it primarily caters to investors looking for appealing returns on investment. They deliver high-end lifestyle rentals in premium locations, but affordability remains a challenge for many. Supporting Property Investors It's imperative to acknowledge the contributions of everyday investors, often labelled as 'mum and dad' or unsophisticated investors. They play a significant role in supplying rental homes in Australia. Let's stop undermining the individuals who provide much-needed homes to the market.