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The replay is ready folks! 👏👏👏

Ben chats about all things property with Alison and David on this segment of Weekend Property on TODAY. What to expect in this video?

✅ What does a manufactured correction mean?
✅ Will interest rate go any lower?
✅ What do you need to do if you’re selling in this market?
✅ Some of the must-ask questions for your agent.
✅ Is this a good time to UPSIZE?

Tune in now to find out more.

Alison: Well it’s great to kick off the new year with a fresh start and for some people this could mean a new home.

David: Whether that’s to downsize or upsize or just relocate, lots of Aussies are looking to sell in the next few months. For more we’re joined by Ben Kingsley from The Property Couch. Ben, good to see you mate.

Ben: G’day.

David: Look, let’s talk about the trends at this time of the year. What are you seeing?

Ben: Yeah look, this is the time of the year where we actually pause and think about our big changes that are going to occur and one of the biggest changes is, is the house that we’ve got right now and the location we’re living in, is it the right for us or are we ready to sell up and move on?

Alison: So I was reading the front page of the paper today and there were reports that the Reserve Bank could cut interest rates within months because there are warnings that Melbourne and Sydney prices could fall further 20%, other capital cities 15%. I mean, are these figures you’re hearing because they are huge numbers.

Ben: They are huge numbers.

Dave: It sounds scary to Ben.

Ben: Yeah they do and I think that’s what’s happening right? We’ve got this sentiment change and this nervousness around the place. Now so it could be self-fulfilling if we actually all believe it and then we all start to panic. We don’t need to panic. You’ve got to understand that this has been a manufactured correction. So the regulator’s have stepped in when the market was going crazy and they’ve really limited borrowing power. By doing so, that stopped this momentum, we’re seeing a reasonable correction in the market place. So the Reserve Bank to potentially lower interest rates is actually a good thing because what will mean is that borrowers will have that little bit more borrowing power and we’ll see that market stabilized.

Alison: But how much lower can interest rates go?

Ben: Well quite a bit, to be honest with you. I mean the cash rates sitting at 1.5% but we’ve seen with the cost of money overseas, has actually increased so that’s been flowing on to what we pay as borrowers. The reality is, if they move those rates down then we’re going to see a little bit more borrowing power and a little bit more comfort and that might bring more buyers into the market.

Dave: All right. Well, let’s talk about people who want to sell at the moment. What should they be looking to do?

Ben: Yeah, well it’s a tough market right because there’s not a lot of buyers out there. So you absolutely need to present your property in the best possible light. It needs to stand out above your competitors. The second thing you want to be looking at is, you’re gonna have to do your homework. Your property is not worth what it was 12 months ago okay? So you’ve got to be realistic about that price point and who’s gonna sell that property? That agent needs to be the best you can find to basically find that buyer for you.

Alison: Well when it is a buyers market like it currently is what sort of questions should you be asking of your real estate agent if you do have to sell?

Ben: Yeah good question Ali. I mean obviously there’s the easy ones which is, what’s my property worth and how much do you charge for your fees. But there are more important questions that you want to be asking. How enthusiastic are they about selling this property? I mean if they’re not enthusiastic, it’s gonna flow through in terms of how they look after the buyers coming in. So that’s number one. Then who’s my target audience? Is it going to be families, is it gonna be young professional couples? I really need to hone in on that then ultimately, what’s our selling strategy? Are we gonna go auction, are we gonna go private sale? Those types of things and then you can’t sell a secret. What’s the marketing strategy? How do you get eyeballs on me in terms of how am I gonna get so many people interested in this property and finally, how good is the agent? You know, are they a good salesperson? Are they gonna really rustle up the best possible deal?

David: So should people out there be cautious selling at this point in time? I sense a little caution from you.

Ben: Yeah, well look, if you don’t have to sell David, don’t. I mean you know, just wait. This is a cycle that happens all the time but for people who are looking to upsize, seriously this is a great time! What a lot of people make the mistake of doing is that they wait for the market to move and so if they’re upsizing they’re gonna pay higher because there’s a lot more demand in there.This is a great time to actually buy if you’re looking to upsize. Now, one tip here though, sell your property first. You’ve got to go to market with it. What a lot of people make the mistake is…

Dave: They go on a bridging loan?

Ben: That’s right! They go and buy that property then go, “Oh, we can’t we sell this property now.” So that’s a really important message for the viewers.

Alison: All right some great advice there. Thank you Ben for joining us this morning. How good is the vibe here at the tennis by the way?

Ben: It’s amazing! On my home town so I love it.

David: Grab a racquet mate. We’ll see you later on at the court.

And there are heaps of other free resources on our website. We update them every week so make sure you check them out before you go. 🙂

Any questions or suggestions for new topics? Just send them in to [email protected] or fill in the form below and we’ll chat about it at our future Q&A episodes.