One of the premises of good investing is to not blindly follow but to sometimes do the opposite of what everyone else is doing. This adage was proven over Covid when it was shown that those who didn’t join the mass sell-off of stocks and property, were well rewarded with markets getting back to parity very quickly and then racing ahead into some of the biggest upswings in recent history.

Why do I mention this?

Well, data emerged last week showing “consumer sentiment” figures are down and have been so for over a year. Figures are at levels last seen during the GFC and early Covid with the distinct difference that they seem to be sustained lows. A little bit like market depression. We also know that there is a strong correlation between Consumer sentiment lows and resistance from buyers making “big decisions”…. like buying or selling a property. In other words, if we hear on the news that the economy is shaky and unemployment is rising, and interest rates are uncertain, we as consumers are less likely to take the plunge into buying that home that we want.

And herein lies the issue. It may well be that our job is super secure, our income and savings are strong, and we’re not looking at borrowing all that much to make an upgrade. But we hold off because everyone is scared! We put it off and put it off until ……… that’s right, we put it off until everybody else’s confidence levels rise and the nightly financial news is rosier. We put it off until everyone else is buying, we put it off until the market has surged because we didn’t have the conviction to ZIG when everyone else was ZAGGING!

So, I’m not saying throw caution to the wind and just go out and blindly make an upgrade. What I am saying, is that if you are in a solid buying position, now could very well be a great time to act! With interest rates unlikely to rise and with inflation coming back quicker than expected, many economists are predicting an upturn in buyer sentiment and once this starts to move, the market is normally well into upswing mode.

Of course, many more factors go into buying and/or selling a property than just buyer sentiment. If you would like some expert guidance on the values or timing of an upcoming move, we’d love to help. The Barry Plant Manningham team is trained to listen. We listen first to make sure we understand the brief before we venture to offer advice. A really important point of difference we think. So, if you’re ready to talk, we’re ready to listen! It’s what we do! After all, we’re just people helping people.

Please see below our impressive sales for the week!

• 5 Warringal Place, Eaglemont sold for $2,599,000
• 43 Uvadale Grove, Kew sold for $1,951,000
• 52 Vale Park Drive, Donvale sold for $1,665,000
• 15 Red Gum Place, Doncaster East sold for $1,630,000
• 24 Pinnacle Crescent, Bulleen sold for $1,575,000
• 71 Hodgson Street, Lower Templestowe sold for $1,252,500
• 39 Gedye Street, Doncaster East sold for $1,200,000
• 1 Eric Avenue, Templestowe sold for $1,180,000
• 12 Rye Street, Mitcham sold for $1,105,000
• 29 O'Shannessy Street, Nunawading sold for $1,097,500
• 4A Vine Street, Ringwood sold for $970,500
• 20 Cascades View, Yallambie sold for $940,000
• 2/9 Maylands Avenue, Balwyn North sold for $820,000
• 20 Woorawa Drive, Doreen sold for $735,000
• 17 Harrison Street, Ringwood sold for $629,000
• 408A/1 Colombo Street, Mitcham sold for $295,000
• 3 Delaneys Road, Warranwood sold!
• 4/38-40 Burnt Street, Nunawading sold!

Currently under offer and will be sold soon:

• 26 Orchard Avenue, Eltham North
• 17 Arthur Street, Bundoora
• 4/16 Green Street, Ivanhoe
• 12 Thomson Drive, Rosanna
• 15 Gaffney Street, Coburg
• 5 Homestead Road, Wonga Park
• 93 James Street, Templestowe
• 1/70 Thea Grove, Doncaster East
• 5 Wattamolla Ridge, Donvale
• 18 Calrossie Avenue, Montmorency
• 2/22 Sunhill Road, Templestowe Lower
• 204/1-3 New Street, Ringwood
• 1/13 Mines Road, Ringwood East
• 1 Eric Avenue, Templestowe Lower
• 10 One Tree Hill, Donvale
• G23/210 Reynolds Road, Doncaster East
• 39 Gedye Street, Doncaster East
• 79 Jolimont Road, Forest Hill
• 1/136 Parker Street, Templestowe

Spiro Drossos

Managing Director

Barry Plant Eastern Group