As the 2021 financial year closes, it will be remembered as one of the most active for the Apollo Bay real estate market, and possibly one like no other, with 190 sales across Apollo Bay, Marengo & Skenes Creek since June 2020.

July & August 2020 began with buyer fresh out of a Covid lockdown and a market fuelled by highly motivated buyers making snap lifestyle and work-related decisions. The record low cost of debt combined with an unprecedented amount of government support extended the financial capacity of buyers.

An abundance of buyers competing for a historically low number of available properties created windfall value rises for regional property owners. Buyers simply had more credit available to them, and those who had just sold a property were re-entering the market with deeper pockets.

Expressions of Interest and online platforms emerged as the best strategy for realising the best prices with buyers lining up in multiples on most properties, and clearance rates exceeding 98%.

The desperation and buyer fatigue was setting in hard with many active purchasers having missed out on multiple properties they had tried to buy. These extenuating circumstances also saw a numbers of sales transacted without a buyer inspection as we quickly adapted to technology in order to to present and facilitate virtual inspections to our clients. Pleasingly, all clients who entered into remote purchases were more than pleased when they were able to physically attend their new properties!

Despite the record prices on offer, the reluctance of property owners to sell has never been more evident. The common concern from many potential sellers being “If I sell where will I go, and what if I can’t get into the market again?”  While the property market is showing no signs of slowing, it is easy to delay selling decisions while continuing to ride a wave of success. In the background we know some owners are simply postponing the sale, but once they see evidence of a slowdown or an increase in available properties, they will put their properties on the market. The most common reasons to sell being up or down-sizing,  relocation, work changes, ageing, and freeing up money.

In the past we have experienced the market going from undersupply to an oversupply almost overnight, and it is this backlog of sellers who have kicked the can down the road on decisions to sell, that can shift the supply demand balance quickly. Frustrated buyers who are yet to purchase are certainly hoping for that to happen.

And what about the 2022 financial year?   The next foreseeable major influence on Australian markets will be the reopening of international borders, and even though it will be some time off, it is worth giving it some thought, as well as expecting the unexpected.

In these unique and unpredictable circumstances, we are reluctant to forecast the market too far ahead, but right now there are no dark clouds on the horizon, with the cost of money set to remain low, interest in Apollo Bay will remain high, plus ‘they’re’ not making any more of it.