Understanding the Popularity of a Genre of Property

As Buyer’s Advocates, we are privy to the more common briefs, the areas which are highly contested and the property genres which are in tightest demand. Clients often appoint us to help them have a point of difference in an otherwise very competitive market. While it feels tough out there for most buyers, there are certainly particularly tough competitive conditions facing buyers in specific locations.

Some of these ‘more sought-after’ types of properties include;

• Single Fronted character Victorians in the inner ring areas (particularly Moonee Ponds, Flemington, Ascot Vale), where supply is quite moderated
• Four bedroom family homes in the inner-ring village locations (Yarraville and Seddon in particular). The challenge to this assignment is that these properties are not only in high demand by the local families commanding large houses, but they are in tight supply. Numbers of available four bedroom properties in once-working-class areas are slim. Each house is rare and often the prices surprise even the agents.
• Subdividable sized blocks in the well-documented gentrifying areas such as Sunshine, Glenroy, Thomastown, Frankston and outer-east. These suburbs delivered exceptional growth of late but the media attention they’ve received has had investors from far and wide flocking. 
• Three bedroom townhouses in Kensington. This particular brief is a popular one for couples who are thinking about family but still enjoying the close proximity to work and city life.

This week’s Spotlight features a lovely couple who’s criteria matched this last genre. They had a circa mid-eights budget and desperately wanted to secure a three bedroom townhouse in Kensington. They’d seen some record sale prices and knew that the new price tag was more likely to head into the nines based on recent auction results.

Time is a critical factor in a moving market.

Our buyers were prepared to canvas every option and they understood that compromises were needed.

The important two questions for buyers who find themselves caught in the grip of extreme competition are:

• What can I do to differentiate myself from the crowd and have a better chance at buying fairly?
• What am I prepared to compromise on?

One thing we often note is how good presentation can help a vendor achieve a ‘runaway’ price. Many buyers fall prey to great furniture, clever styling and freshly painted interiors. We prepared our buyers for the ‘rough diamond’ options they’d get to see as off-markets and reminded them that the chances of an off-market being styled and prepped for sale would be less than normal…. and they were to maintain their focus on the property, not the styled features.

When we got a response to our off-market call out from a local agent, we knew that our clients would need to be prepared to look beyond the presentation of this student share-house. Rigby Lane offered three good sized bedrooms, a private rear courtyard, two bathrooms and was situated in Kensington Mews, where cobblestone and parklands characterise this medium density area once known as the Cattleyards. Built between 1980 and 1990, the dwelling was certainly not particularly modern and the tenants, as obliging as they were, didn’t exactly present the property for sale. However our buyers could look beyond the kitchen sink full of dishes, the need for painting and new carpet and the overgrown trees and shrubs outside.

They had found their future home, and better yet they didn’t have to face competition to secure it.

We moved swiftly for them and a thorough building and pest inspection gave them a good idea of the items which needed immediate attention and the cost involved. 

Securing their townhouse for $860,000 meat that they could clean the property up and fix the items pointed out by the builder.

Kensington demand has increased markedly over the past few years and for good reason. Just four kilometres from Melbourne’s CBD and soon to enjoy further development with the introduction of Melbourne’s newest inner-ring suburb; Arden, Kensington is in for big things. The Metro Rail development which will connect Kensington to some new stations is an exciting announcement for the inner North West. But not withstanding the announced changes, Kensington’s local vibe, fantastic shopping and cafe strip and pretty period houses has been stealing hearts for a long time. We’ve been waiting to share our Kensington snapshot with a Kensington acquisition but it has taken us quite a while. Competition has been fierce and we’ve been outbid on quite a few properties over the months for various client briefs.

But… we finally did it. Wishing our lovely couple a wonderful lifestyle in this gorgeous suburb!