Melbourne Property News Monthly Wrap – March 2024

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Melbourne Property News - Buyer Marketing

Interest rates stay at 4.35%. Lower range homes gaining value fastest so far in 2024

Over March’s first three weekends the Real Estate Institute of Victoria (REIV) recorded more than 2,352 auctions. 1,471 properties sold, 1,143 at auction, with 440 passed in. 328 properties were sold before auction with 0 properties selling after auction. The clearance rate averaged 78.00%, virtually on par with February’s 78.25%.

RBA holds rates at 4.35%

It was good news for home buyers this week after the Reserve Bank kept interest rates on hold at 4.35% for the third meeting in a row. This guarantees stability for the immediate buying period, with the likelihood rates will drop marginally later this year.

What’s happening with house values?

Usually the more expensive top end homes lead property cycles, gaining value sharply in an upswing or losing sharply in downturns. Although the upper end went up strongly over a lot of 2023, property analysts CoreLogic (in their March Housing Chart Pack) claim it’s the wider middle and lower quartiles of the market that are showing the most gains so far in 2024.

Survey puts buyer confidence high

The industry keeps tabs on exactly what buyers are thinking from quarter to quarter and according to realestate.com.au’s latest Residential Audience Pulse Survey, many buyers are in a positive state of mind right now with 35% of all survey respondents believing it is currently a good time to buy, which is up 9% on the previous quarter.

The main reasons people are buying this year

Firstly, there are lot of people looking. The latest data from property analysts PropTrack claims 23% of all Australian consumers aged 18 and over are interested in buying a home and are pro-actively looking. That’s nearly 1 in 4. Lifestyle changes like wanting to live in a different/better area ranks as the highest motivator, with 32% of buyers. Other motivators include making financial gains (18%) – this includes the investor cohort, downsizing (13%), retirement (12%), and upsizing (12%).

Do you have to compete with foreign investors/buyers?

Melbourne has way more foreign buyers/investors than other capital cities. According to the most recent available data (Register of Foreign Owned Residential Real Estate, 2022), Victoria had 1,703 purchases over the 2022 financial year. This is nearly twice more than the next highest state, Queensland, which had 956 purchases. New South Wales was a distant third with 664. The most searched location in Australia by offshore investors on realestate.com.au was the Melbourne CBD where they are buying apartments/units. If you’re buying there you certainly will have some stiff competition!

Buying a property is usually very competitive, plus there are potholes which can result in paying too much. Buyer Marketing’s deep experience and strategies for every stage of the process will give you the advantage you need. Find that perfect property and secure it at a price that’s most advantageous to you, the buyer!

Peter Fox
Principal Advisor &
Licensed Estate Agent
Buyer Marketing

Google Reviews

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Gail Lobo profile picture
Gail Lobo
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Peter's knowledge and expertise were invaluable when purchasing my first home. He guided me through every step and kept me informed regularly, which made the process easier and less stressful. I felt supported and in good hands throughout. Everything fell into place within a few weeks, quicker than expected! I would highly recommend Peter and his services.
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Charlotte St John profile picture
Charlotte St John
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Peter Fox is an outstanding buyer’s advocate. I am so glad that I hired him. It was incredibly helpful to have someone so experienced in real estate navigate the ins and outs of buying a home on my behalf. He achieved the result I was looking for in record speed, and took the stress out of everything. Thank you Peter.
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Colby Hart profile picture
Colby Hart
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Peter was a fantastic buyers advocate - identified and negotiated our dream home for us extremely quickly. Couldn't recommend higher.
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Beatrix Neville profile picture
Beatrix Neville
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I had an excellent experience working with Peter in purchasing my first home. Peter has a calm demeanour and is a clear communicator - never once did I feel stressed, pressured or uncertain of where I was in the journey or what the next steps would be. Peter understood me and my brief, selected quality properties to inspect and took me through off-market properties to compare. Within 3 weeks of contracting Peter we secured the perfect place. I am absolutely thrilled with my purchase, and believe I would have missed out on the property without Peter's rapport and expertise in communicating with Real Estate, and then guidance once the negotiation process started. Peter made the process of finding a property so fun and exciting that I was almost sad when it was over! Thanks Peter!
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Jean-Pierre Eid
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We engaged Peter Fox for bidding and negotiating, hands down one of the best decisions we ever made. He was clear and comforting ahead of auction and on the day witnessing Peter go to work was awe inspiring. Having done his due diligence beforehand, he was quick to assess a sizable field of interested parties and surgically execute a winning strategy securing for us our dream home. All that aside Peter was empathetic and understood our worries and motivations while also demonstrating strong discipline and an ethical approach throughout. Thank you Peter Fox
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Jessica Fagioli profile picture
Jessica Fagioli
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Peter is nothing short of a real estate king. I engaged Peter because I was looking at buying a specific house in a very competitive area, and which was being sold under a complex set of circumstances. Before even formally engaging him, Peter had gone to see the house in question, had spoken to the real estate agent, and had a good idea of what we were working with. From that moment on, I knew I was in safe hands. Peter was always available to alleviate any concerns and answer any questions, and when he wasn’t in a position to know the answers, he knew exactly how to get them in a prompt manner. Peter established a strong rapport with both the vendor’s solicitor (which ensured my lawyers and I were comfortable with the state of affairs before auction day) and the selling agent (which was critical to my ultimate success at auction). I cannot even begin to describe Peter’s mastery on auction day: there is no way I would’ve succeeded had he not been there. I cannot recommend Peter highly enough. Infinite thanks to you, Peter!
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patty goodman profile picture
patty goodman
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I purchased an investment property through Peter and he made the process so easy and stress free. I saved so much time being able to work while he inspected multiple property’s and negotiated a good deal for the right one. Highly recommend this bloke!
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Peter Mallen profile picture
Peter Mallen
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Peter Fox from Buyer Marketing helped us buy a property in Vermont South recently. We have been looking to downsize for some time and, honestly, are fairly fussy with our criteria. So when a house came along which ticked many of the boxes for us, we enlisted Peter's help to negotiate with the agent and to get the deal across the line. Peter was friendly, approachable and professional throughout. His knowledge and experience of the real estate market and the buying side in particular meant that we could leave the conversations and timing of offers to Peter. We were able to secure the property we wanted at a price that met our budget and met our criteria. So we are very grateful for Peter's advice, assistance and good communication throughout the process.
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Peter Villinger profile picture
Peter Villinger
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With Buyer Marketing’s Peter Fox I was in good hands from the beginning. An initial meeting with Peter set me on the path to a successful purchase of a property. This was an informal chat whereby he was able to understand precisely what my requirements were.From there the process was clear and efficient, Peter explaining not only what he would do but also how and why those were his strategies.Regular updates and the knowledge that he was up for a chat anytime was most reassuring. Peter V
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James Ireland profile picture
James Ireland
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Peter provided us with deep knowledge of the local areas, the real estate market and contacts within the industry that allowed us to quickly purchase a property that suited us perfectly. He gave us calm and thoughtful recommendations and was there for us at every step. He gave us insights we would not have otherwise known, and made the whole process simple. He conducted all the negotiations on our behalf and we came away with the perfect property at the right price. Could not recommend his services higher.

Buyers Agent Melbourne

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