Demand
There are a number of considerations we take into
account when looking at the amount of buyers active
in the market.
Buyers normally start their journey by looking online.
Chart 3 shows that the number of buyer enquiries on our
websites dipped about 25 per cent in April, but is now
up over 11 per cent on this time last year. In fact, we are
seeing unprecedented levels of online traffic across our
Ray White websites. Industry portals like Domain and REA
are also reporting significant increases in buyer enquiry.
From online enquiry, the next juncture is buyer
inspections. After a considerable fall in March we
have seen a major increase in buyer inspections since
restrictions have eased. So much in fact that the
number of potential buyers inspecting property now is
significantly higher than before March 2020.
The next stage is buyers bidding at property auctions.
This is transparently reported through our auction data.
When we look at our auctions in recent weeks, we have
seen the average number of bidders per auction (chart 4)
exceed the numbers that were achieved in what many would
consider our peak selling season over the spring months.
Pre-approvals are a key leading indicator to buyer
confidence knowing they have the financial capacity to
buy the property. Chart 5 shows the monthly home loan
pre-approvals recorded by the Loan Market Group have
increased by 236 per cent compared to last year and a
massive increase of 17 times compared to FY2019.
So what factors are contributing to buyer confidence?
• Interest rates are at record lows. Importantly, the
general consensus among economists is that they will
remain at these low levels for the foreseeable future.
• Banks and lenders remain very supportive of lending
for residential property.
• The low Australian dollar is attracting strong overseas
buyer interest.
• Record levels of government stimulus are supporting
buyer sentiment.
Chart 3:
Online enquiries
This chart compares the number of online enquiries made
through Ray White websites over the 2019 and 2020
calendar years. It shows that online enquiries are 9.9 per cent
above levels at the same time last year.
# Online Enquiries / 28 days
# / 28 days
70k
60k
50k
40k
30k
20k
10k
6.0
5.0
4.0
3.0
2.0
1.0
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep
Chart 4:
Bidding by month
The chart illustrates that the average number of registered
bidders per auction has been increasing through 2020 as at
27 July 2020.
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
Avg. Active Bidders per Auction
Chart 5:
Loan pre-approvals
2019 2020
Source: Ray White Online Analytics
May
Jun
Jul
Avg. Reg. Bidders per Auction
Source: Ray White EARS Auction Reporting System
This chart compares the number of loan pre-approvals
submitted via Loan Market brokers over the 2019
and 2020 calendar years. It shows higher levels of
pre-approvals now compared to 12 months ago.
# Loan Pre-approvals / 28 days
2,000
1,800
1,600
1,400
1,200
1,000
800
600
400
200
Aug
Sep
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep
2019 2020
Source: Loan Market
11