A survey commissioned by LocalAgentFinder has shone a light on a wide variety of homeowner attitudes across Australia.
The thoughts of the nation
The findings, which have been published in the LocalAgentFinder Real Estate Sentiment Report, explore the attitudes of a nationally representative sample of 1,003 property owners. The report was completed by independent research agency, The Evolved Group.
“The purpose of this survey was to understand and amplify the attitudes of homeowners across the country on issues that range from the impact of Covid-19 on the property market to the most likely factors that affect property prices,” said LocalAgentFinder CEO, Richard Stevens.
Impact of the pandemic
Two years into the Covid-19 pandemic, Australians don’t think we’ve finished feeling the impacts. Only 30 per cent feel that the impacts of Covid are behind us.
The Covid-19 pandemic has changed many things about our lifestyle, and the survey bears this out, with 39 per cent of us considering a sea change or tree change.
“As working from home has become part of the new normal, many Australians are placing more thought into their home and where they live. Many property owners have explored moving away from the major cities in favour of other lifestyle benefits,” said Richard Stevens, who recently spoke to The Australian about the report.
The market remains resilient
The survey found that confidence in the housing market remains strong, with more than eight out of ten Australians believing property values will continue to rise this year.
“This confidence is likely generated from the remarkable resilience of the property market through the pandemic and many may feel that this is likely to continue with the easing of restrictions as Australia opens back up,” said Richard Stevens.
“The survey suggests that despite the incredible price growth and sales volume through 2021, Australians remain quite bullish on the market’s prospects in the short term.”
An eventful year ahead
The survey found many Australian homeowners are likely to make big decisions over the coming year. Twenty-one per cent are considering refinancing their property and 33 per cent are considering renovating.
“The renovation boom looks set to continue this year which is likely a by-product of people spending more time at home, or thinking seriously about selling in order to benefit from the market’s recent positive run,” said Richard Stevens.
Capitalising on a strong market
Perhaps even more significantly, 20 per cent of Australian homeowners are considering finding a real estate agent to value or sell their home.
“It is unsurprising that many Australians are thinking seriously about selling. The extended periods of time people have spent working from home recently has offered more time with family and removed long commutes to the office for many. This has impacted the importance they place on their home and the time they spend there,” said Richard Stevens.
Of those considering selling, 25 per cent said they were definitely going to sell and 39 per cent said it was very likely.
The power of agents
When it came to selling, the overwhelming majority of respondents nominated two major factors that were likely to positively affect their sale price.
Nearly all respondents (91 per cent) believed that finding the right real estate agent was important to get the best price possible. A similar amount (87 per cent) agreed that having a strong presence on listings websites was also important.
“The survey suggests that Australians understand the power of online property marketing but still place an extraordinary amount of value in real estate agents to help them achieve the best possible outcome,” said Richard Stevens.
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