In the first week of November The Agency’s Southern Highlands team, led by Ben Olofsen and Cameron McKillop, has sold $15.5 million worth of property and all to Sydney-based buyers. The nine transactions occurred in quick succession over seven days and comprised of six homes and three lots of land. This significant start to November was backed by a strong October performance, with the team selling more than $20 million worth of property across 19 transactions.
“The demand from Sydney buyers is extraordinary, enquiries overall are up 300 per cent, I would receive a 100 calls a day from prospective buyers and 80 per cent of all buyer interactions are from Sydney,” Ben Olofsen explains. “To think we have made nine residential sales in just seven days, and 100 per cent of those buyers are from Sydney, the migration trend from our capital cities seems to be growing.”
When asked about the drivers motivating these buyers, both Cameron McKillop and Ben Olofsen cite a reaction to COVID-19 and the desire for greater work-life balance as the key motivating factors.
“We have seen many retirees bring their plans to downsize from Sydney forward due to the impact of COVID-19, people have had time to assess their priorities and want to make the change now,” Cameron McKillop says.
“But it is not only people downsizing, many families are migrating to the Southern Highlands too, as they can now work remotely and afford more space and a different lifestyle. And then of course there are those professionals who are after a weekender. The Southern Highlands is still relatively close to Sydney, and so regardless of motivation, this proximity makes it an attractive location.”
Currently there is a shortage of stock in the Southern Highlands market, traditionally there would be between 850 to 900 listings at any one time, but currently there is an average of about 500 listings. This shortage, combined with the surge in buyer demand from Sydney, is placing upward pressure on prices. Despite this pressure, people are still able to achieve much greater value for money when buying in the Southern Highlands than they would in Sydney.
“People are relocating to the Southern Highlands in order to become debt free or to at least minimise their debt,” Ben Olofsen says. “COVID-19 has meant people want less risk and greater security, by moving regional they can achieve this and greater work-life balance.”
In the mix of sales were two prestige properties, 224 Greenhills Road, Berrima, which was marketed with a guide of $4.7 million, and 26 Werrington Street, Burradoo, which was sold for around $3.25 million. Both of these properties had been listed with other agents, within four weeks of being listed with The Agency team they sold for significant prices.
Ben Olofsen attributes the synergies between The Agency’s regional operations and its Sydney-based network as a strategic tool for introducing qualified buyers to their local properties. In fact, The Agency is the highest selling brand across the Southern Highlands with a notable margin, and Ben Olofsen and Cameron McKillop have been ranked first and second for overall sales across the region.
“At The Agency we focus on integrating our network of agents and strongly encourage cross referrals. As we are a non-franchise business there are no roadblocks in the way of our agents working closely together, right across the nation,” Matt Lahood, The Agency’s CEO, explains. “The ties between our Sydney-based agents and our regional agents, including Ben Olofsen and Cameron McKillop, is the material point of difference in how The Agency operates and optimises both agent and client outcomes.”