Canberra leading spike in seller satisfaction

Canberra home sellers are the most satisfied in the nation, according to a new survey that’s revealed overall vendor happiness is on the rise after a sharp drop in April.

RateMyAgent’s half-yearly Price Expectation Report showed 47 per cent of sellers surveyed in the ACT achieved a sale price above expectations, just ahead of Hobart where 46 per cent of vendors achieved the same.

On the flipside, vendors in Western Australia’s Peel region, just south of Perth, were rated the unhappiest in the nation, with just 12 per cent of sales beating expectations.

Perth was the only capital city in the 10 unhappiest regions, ranked fifth with just 27 per cent of vendors selling above what they expected, RateMyAgent said.

The survey, which reached 33,000 home sellers, indicated vendors’ happiness overall was up 12 per cent from June last year, with 39 per cent of Australian sellers overachieving on sales price.’

RateMyAgent chief executive Mark Armstrong said while April was a difficult month for many home sellers, with every state recording a decline in sale price happiness, the survey results showed market confidence was stabilising after the initial shock of the coronavirus pandemic.

Mr Armstrong said that confidence could be largely attributed to federal and state government stimulus packages.

“HomeBuilder, JobKeeper and JobSeeker have provided a safety net to Australians and added a level of security to what would be an otherwise quite volatile economic period,” Mr Armstrong said.

“Looking back on the March to June period, we saw the absolute peak of consumer uncertainty, which can be attributed to the decline in happiness. 

“Looking to the next six months of 2020, Australian sellers and buyers can anticipate stable levels of vendor happiness if stock levels remain low. 

“However, a potential increase in supply of property as we enter the spring market may dial-down buyer competition and thus see happiness decrease.”

Canberra sellers’ happiness, Mr Armstrong said, was due to an “incredibly stable” property market.

“ Buyers in the area aren’t putting off any plans to buy and vendors aren’t hesitating to get on the market,” he said.

“Job growth and stable government employment has brought strong competition to the local market, meaning vendors are achieving great prices on their property sales.”