Network update
A new financial year brings with it new ambitions . Like all of our past 122 years , we start this year determined that it will be our best year yet .
We finished last financial year with a record high market share of 14.58 per cent across Australia and New Zealand , which was an eight per cent increase on where we were in June 2023 . We know we can ’ t control how many properties will be sold in this new financial year and what will happen to property prices , but we can control how much of the market we are responsible for . Staying on the incline , when it comes to market share , is our solemn commitment .
Our members might be interested to know that as a group we are targeting $ 90 billion in sales for the June 2025 financial year , which we expect would deliver to our members $ 1.78 billion in gross commission . Our sales activity in the first three months of the year delivered over $ 22.9 billion in unconditional property sales across the group , representing nearly 24,500 property owners . This is a solid 12 per cent improvement in the value of property sold on the same quarter in 2023 , and a 10 per cent increase in the number of sales , putting us on track for our annual targets . These sales reflect the overall change in the number of listings from last year , which reached over 30,000 properties for the September quarter which was 11 per cent up on last year .
Our property management teams continue to expand our client relationships , with total properties under management growing over the past year by over seven per cent to 246,000 . Given the pressures facing the property investment industry and our teams that deal with the issues that arise from that pressure every day , this is an outstanding result for which they should feel very proud .
But these are averages across all of our markets . Not for some time has there been such variation in activity and conditions across our markets . It is misleading to give a broad ranging statement on what is happening across Australia and New Zealand . We can group Queensland , South Australia and Western Australia together and note that they are experiencing similarly strong conditions , but that new listings in New South Wales , Victoria and Tasmania have increased substantially and clearance rates have softened a little . New Zealand is on the right trajectory after a brutal few years but it is still in the early phase of a recovery . Our commercial network is starting to re-build momentum off the back of more positive talk regarding 2025 interest rates , as is the rural network .
This divergence of activity and performance across our markets reaffirms the way in which we operate as a corporate team , with state-based ( or New Zealand-based ) CEOs and resources , who are in turn supported by national specialists that give us deep expertise in so many fields . It ’ s a structure that seeks to have as much decision-making in the hands of local leaders who are closest to the issues at hand , and can react to change quickly .
Overall , generally it remains an active marketplace . And while there are many positive and negative signals regarding what may lie ahead , we know if we focus on the basics , good things will happen . The best shortcut I know for checking if we are focussing on the basics is analysing our auction data - can we proudly say we are still true believers in creating competition ?
Unfortunately , this is where our statistics aren ’ t as good . We could simply point to our market share of auctions at over 25 per cent and say we are doing well , but we know other agencies will pull back from auctions when listings start to rise . Surely , not us too ? When you look at our data , the percentage of properties listed as auctions dropped from 41 per cent to 39 per cent over the past 12 months . Only a slight decline I know , but enough of a decline to be concerned about .
On the subject of a new financial year , I feel it is important that I remind our business owners of the release of the new Profit Pulse . We often speak about the benefits that come from being the market leader and so geographically broad - there is no better example of this than the work of Luke Richardson and his Network Finance team . This team now has an incredible depth of experience in working with business owners to understand their financial position and profit potential . Profit Pulse takes another big step in providing real time insights and benchmarks to assist financial decision making . There is nothing like it in the industry .
As in all industries , our business owners have no choice but to be continually looking for ways to protect and grow margins , as we are challenged by suppliers on costs and by our customers to improve our service to justify our fees . And our industry is different from others - so many times we find our members using external accountants and financial advisors who do not understand our industry and therefore give advice which is unsuitable . Our team are real estate specialists , grounded with deep experience , with a single mandate to support your profitability .
On a final point , a huge thank you to everyone who joined us for our eight awards nights across Australia and New Zealand throughout August and September . It was a very special awards season . We now look ahead to our next big awards night at Connect 2025 on the Gold Coast , 10 and 11 August . That promises to be as special as special gets .
Dan White Managing Director Ray White Group
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