Ballarat’s fast moving market…

We have been active in Ballarat for quite a few years now. My first reconnaissance voyage was in 2010 and my first acquisition for a client was back in 2011.

In this time the market has exhibited higher rental yields than Melbourne and Geelong and the capital growth could be fairly described as moderated (when compared to metro performance), but it has also been consistent. For investors who have targeted a combination of growth and yield, this region has provided the opportunity to do so.

Since the introduction of the first home owners concession for the full stamp duty for buyers up to $600,000, and in tandem with investment lending restrictions instigated by APRA, this region has flourished, demonstrating stronger growth than the customary sub-6% annualised capital growth performance. 

Greater Ballarat is home to more than 100,000 people and this figure is growing steadily.

Jobs are available in public, private, health and manufacturing sectors and contract positions are standard.

What has changed is the tree-changer acceptance of the area, and combined with Melbourne and interstate investor activity in the area, the ‘days on market’ have been compressed noticeably.

Growth has reflected these new conditions. Some of Ballarat’s tightly held inner suburbs recorded growth in excess of 20% in 2017.

Buying a house in Ballarat is a challenge indeed, because suitably priced houses are selling within a matter of just days. Vendors are fielding offers after the first day of open for inspection and many buyers are purchasing sight-unseen over the internet.

Ballarat hasn’t experienced demand of this nature in a long time, and we now find ourselves adapting to these difficult buying conditions with a tailored approach to our visits to the region.

Jeanette has penned her approach to share with our readers.

“Coordinating full days of inspections for Ballarat can definitely has its challenges.”

“The main factors to consider when organising the day include:

1. Agent availability
2. Tenant/vendor availability
3. Fast moving market
4. Sorting and grouping the properties by suburb
5. Creating an itinerary that flows in a timely fashion

The lead up to the day involves lots of searching, calling, coordinating, re-arranging, calling back, confirming and re-confirming. Shortlisting the properties for the brief can be nit-picky to begin with as we need to make sure they are actually still available within the fast-moving market. So, before we even start to plan the day, we can run into the issue of the property already being sold and then need to source more properties that suit the brief.

After we know the properties are available (before the weekend, as inspections generally happen on the following Tuesday), we can then start to flesh out an itinerary. Trying to take into consideration agent/tenant/vendor availability, and trying to order the inspections based on the proximity of the properties to each other means a lot of back and forth. 

By the time we finally have an itinerary confirmed on the Friday before the inspections, I then need to follow everyone up and re-confirm on the Monday to make sure that none of the properties sold over the weekend. If they have, we either try to find another suitable property to fill the gap, or move another inspection into that slot so that Cate and the client are not waiting around or wasting any time. Making sure they are making the most of their time there is crucial as we generally have more than 10 properties to get through in one day.”

It is no mean feat for Jeanette to collate my itinerary, and the next challenge we often face after the day’s inspections are over is competition.

The agents may have encouraged the vendor to hold back accepting an offer from another buyer in an effort to facilitate my inspection, and in cases like this I’m prepared for the pressure of conducting due diligence, appraising the property and helping our client make a purchase decision (potentially by nightfall that same day). But often we find that properties we anticipated having a few days to decide upon suddenly have offers from other buyers that same afternoon as our inspection. 

The requirement for clear decision-making, rapid assessment around due diligence and strong negotiation skills is vital in regions where days on market are short and private treaty method is abundant. 

Agents don’t muck around in Ballarat.

Fair offers are snapped up and buyers who are too slow miss out.

We anticipate that the strong conditions will continue throughout 2018 and opportunities for investors will continue to be rewarding, but we also believe that tree-changers, retirees and commuting professionals will add an exciting element for Ballarat’s property market.