‘I love a sunburnt country

A land of sweeping plains

Of ragged mountain ranges

Of droughts and flooding rains’

Dorothea Mackellar 1908

At a time of year when the threat of bushfires is usually a talking point in our area, this year it is the talk of rain, rain and more rain with flash flooding across Victoria. In fact we have hardly seen the sun until the last few days this summer and the only fires in existence are those in living rooms across the Surf Coast. Our holiday rental team has even received enquiries for firewood supplies!

I can’t help but think that perhaps there is a direct correlation between the weather and buyer confidence as it also seems that the gloomy weather is impacting the psyche of property buyers. So far we have had the quietest start to a year for sales in recent memory. Based on www.realestate.com.au statistics, there have been less than a handful of sales between Anglesea and Apollo Bay in 2024.

In fact we are finding that there are more properties being withdrawn from sale by vendors than there are being sold. This shift in sales numbers has led to a slant towards more of a buyer’s market. More opportunities and more motivated vendors.

However, the sun has finally poked its head out over the last few days, so let’s hope this rotten weather is behind us, the beaches continue filling with people and the enquiries continue to pick up.