The latest Cotality Home Value Index provides an interesting backdrop as we enter spring. National home values eased 0.9% in August, while Sydney recorded a 1.4% decline for the month. Of course, those figures represent very broad markets and conditions can look considerably different depending on the suburb, property type and price point.
What they do tell us is that this isn’t a market where agents can afford to overlook the fundamentals.
I’ve often said real estate is a game of inches. Today, I think it has become a game of millimetres. Forensic attention to detail across marketing, promotion, buyer communication and vendor management can make a meaningful difference to the outcome of a campaign.
If you tell an owner you’ll call them on Tuesday, call them on Tuesday. If you recommend an adjustment to the marketing, follow it through. If a buyer needs to be contacted, have the systems in place to make sure it happens. These may seem like simple tasks, but collectively they build trust.
That trust becomes particularly important when it’s time to make a recommendation. If I’m telling an owner that I believe an offer represents a premium result, the credibility behind that conversation has been built through every interaction leading up to it.
There will always be parts of the property market an agent can’t control. What we can control is the quality of our communication, the promises we make and whether we follow through on them. When conditions are changing, those small details can become the difference between simply running a campaign and delivering a strong result.