In the first quarter of 2015 the Melbourne market showed an increase of 20.5% in volume of sales over the first quarter in 2012.

The Barry Plant Group outstripped the market, reporting a rise of 33.4%. “It indicates how far the Melbourne market has come in terms of recovery,” said Barry Plant CEO Mike McCarthy. “I’ve observed that when the market is tough, customers turn to strong brands, such as ours, which they know and trust to get them the best result in a depressed market. As the market gains momentum, we see all the hard work we put in during those years translating into increased business for our offices.”

The Barry Plant Group sold 174 more properties in March 2015 than in March 2014, falling only eight short of the Group’s all-time record in March 2010. “Given that this current market hasn’t reached the levels of 2010, it shows how strong a month it was,” Mike said. 16 of the network’s 80 offices enjoyed a record month for March, four of which reported best-ever results. Noble Park-Keysborough achieved the Group’s all-time record, selling an impressive 71 properties in one month.

The average sale price also grew, with properties fetching $21K more than they did in March 2014. “While there were continued high auction clearance rates, the increase in average sale price was only up 5.89%,” Mike said. “Given that our group represents a wide coverage of Melbourne, this suggests that prices are not rising at an unsustainable level. We are not in a boom-bust cycle yet, although there are warning signs we might be heading in that direction.”