The Barry Plant Eastern Group cemented its place as the market leader in Melbourne’s East in 2020 after being named as the Number One Office in the Barry Plant Group, ranked among the Top 6 Sales Offices in Australia in the coveted REB Awards and achieved record-breaking sales across multiple suburbs — an incredible feat in a year where sales dropped by 40 per cent nationally between February and April during Stage 2 restrictions.

Looking to the year ahead, Barry Plant Eastern Group Director Spiro Drossos expects the housing market’s strong recovery from the second half of 2020 to continue long into 2021. He also believes pent-up buyer demand, a faster than expected economic recovery and a large pool of homebuyers eager to take full advantage of record low interest rates by securing larger properties with work-from-home options will drive house prices up. “The acre lifestyle market was also a big mover in 2020 and attracted a number of record sales,” he says. “We see this trend continuing in 2021".

“With regards to residential development, developers building townhouses or family homes should be considering work from home facilities given the in-demand nature of home offices and study nooks.” The outlook is also positive for landlords and tenants, given the improvement of vacancy rates, proposed changes to the Residential Tenancy Act and the strong demand for quality properties, especially those located within school zones. “Despite the challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, our office focused on new innovations with cutting edge strategy and we’ve carried that positive momentum into 2021, where a high volume of properties have already been leased,” says Brendan Di Rago, Director–Property Management Division.

If you’d like to learn more about the current market conditions, contact us today for an obligation-free chat.