Network Update
The year certainly finished very differently to how it started ! Well , at least in the major markets of Australia . The year began cautiously , amid the spectre of continued rising interest rates and declining house prices . The number of new listings were declining . It looked like we would be grinding out a tough year across all of our markets .
But spring market conditions arrived early and unannounced in Australia around June . Listings and sales began to turn . We might be biased , but our Chief Economist Nerida Conisbee was the first to call out this change in her reports and commentary in July much to the surprise and perhaps , disbelief , of the community . The market has only continued to strengthen from then on , with rising listings being well met by scores of buyers , though the regional markets were far more subdued than the major cities . All culminating in our Australian residential sales results for November at over $ 6 billion , just 10 per cent lower than our record in the peak “ COVID ” sales period of November 2021 .
Is there anything more enigmatic than the Australian real estate market ?!
A different experience in 2023 for our New Zealand members . The year started with communities on the North Island dealing with the devastation and disruption of a major flood . And since then , the market was stubbornly consistent in terms of new listings and sales for the remainder of the year .
Overall for 2023 , we will write $ 82.4 billion in sales across 85,700 transactions . This is just one per cent less than 2022 , yet 17 per cent less than 2021 . We wrote nearly $ 10 billion more in the second half of 2023 than the first half , and all of this growth came out of Australia .
That ’ s the overall sales market - but how did we perform ? Did we just ride the market ? Or did we improve ?
The most straightforward way to answer this question is our change in market share . It tells us if we are being more productive and our teams are growing , if we are retaining talent and if we are able to attract new members . the levels of immigration into Australia and New Zealand . Some of our priorities in 2023 are the same priorities we have had for 121 years ! Like our relentless commitment to auctions . Over the past six months we were responsible for over 22 per cent of all scheduled auctions across Australia and New Zealand . That is four times more than the next largest group , reinforcing our position as the Competition Creators™ . 37 per cent of all our listings are auctions , compared to 21 per cent across the entire market . But we can still do better .
Some of our priorities are new . We now have a machine - NurtureCloud - that ensures we identify our clients that are in ‘ real estate mode ’ and measures our success in communicating with them . It ’ s giving all our leaders laser focus on our appraisal activity - technology taking us back to basics . And our new buyer module in NurtureCloud is in pilot mode and set to be released to the network in the first quarter of 2024 .
A very significant initiative for 2024 is what we are calling Leadership Week , where we are planning to welcome over 400 of our leaders to the Gold Coast in March . It comprises a number of events : a Chairman ’ s Elite business leaders day on 18 March , the Ray White Leadership Academy on 19 and 20 March which is open to all members , a Premier business leader celebration dinner on the evening of 20 March , and an Elite business leaders day on 21 March . We are blessed to have our friend Professor Boris Groysberg joining on 18 March , and on day two of the Leadership Academy on 20 March . We are in the leadership game - the development of our leadership skills is vital to our future - and so we urge all of our leaders and aspiring leaders ( regardless of your title ) to join us . Please contact Bianca Denham ( bdenham @ raywhite . com ) if you require further information or purchase your tickets at the QR code below .
On behalf of my family and our entire corporate team , I would like to thank all of our members for their hard work and commitment throughout the year . It was a year in which we can be proud of our collective efforts . We wish everyone the best for the holiday season and look forward to making a strong start together in 2024 .
We finished the year with a record high market share across Australia and New Zealand at 13.7 per cent , twice that of the next group . As we like to say , “ everything is new ahead ”. It was another enormous year for building our leadership talent and ambition across the group . A total of 182 business leaders were either welcomed , farewelled , or went through an ownership restructure during the year .
The rental market has been challenging for not only our clients but for our team members . Despite the difficult environment , we grew total properties under management from 222,000 to 228,000 during the year . It is very dangerous to generalise , but rental affordability in our major markets continues to be squeezed . Despite much talk of government action , it is difficult to see an easing of pressure given
Dan White Managing Director Ray White Group
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