Network Update
As we started to gain momentum at the start of this year , we circled the month of May as an important one . Could we make it a memorable month ? A very solid month in March gave us some confidence that we could , but we were brought back to earth with a disrupted and disappointing April . New listings felt tight but our auction results were undeniably strong , and so we remained hopeful that we could post a big result .
May didn ’ t disappoint .
We wrote $ 7.16bn of sales in May , which was only five per cent less than our May 2022 results , and the best result we have recorded in 12 months . It was a record month for us in Western Australia , and we enjoyed very strong figures in New South Wales , Queensland and South Australia . All of these markets outperformed their results of May 2022 . This is despite the multitudes of interest rate rises that have occurred over the past 12 months .
Importantly , New Zealand had a nice lift in volumes to $ 1.12bn , our best month this year . It was about 15 per cent down in May 2022 in terms of dollar value , but in terms of number of sales it was only four properties less .
Although we ’ re very happy with the May results , we know that there ’ s a huge amount of uncertainty at the moment . We can take nothing for granted , and as there ’ s no shortage of commentators giving predictions of impending calamity , we must appreciate that our customers will be nervous and we must be able to explain to them the underlying strength of the market and the benefit that it provides them .
Every member I speak to talks about their frustration in securing new stock for sale . And that ’ s also the perception of our buyers and sellers - and giving them caution to list their properties as they will have nowhere to go . In May , we listed 8,400 properties for sale , which was 11 per cent less than what we listed in the same month last year and over 13 per cent less than we listed in March 2023 . We sold 7,940 properties in the month - less than the number we listed . So our total stock on market at the end of May increased to 25,380 properties . In fact , our total stock on market is the highest it has been since early 2021 ! So whilst new listings feel tight , we are still listing more than we are selling , and total stock on market is high and growing . This is a very important message for our customers to be able to encourage them to enter the market . We can understand why they might be confused as to the state of the market .
What is not confusing though are the results being achieved at auction . We are averaging 2.8 bidders per auction , which is the highest monthly number we have recorded since the end of 2021 . We are now responsible for approximately 25 per cent of all auctions across Australia and New Zealand . The temptation would be to say ‘ mission accomplished ’, and start to look at other areas where we can improve . How dangerous that would be ! I know we have the persistence to keep improving our auction share even further .
One of my personal highlights of the past quarter were our Chairman ’ s Elite and Elite Business Leader conferences . We know that nothing happens in our group without quality leadership inside a real estate business , creating an environment for all our members to reach their potential . The thing about seeking to empower leadership is that it requires us to challenge our leaders and be challenged by them , and to facilitate peer group discussions . The format of those conferences
enabled that to happen .
This White Report details our technology strategy for the year ahead . Technology has its biggest impact when it delivers network effects - the more people that use something or are in something , the more valuable it is . There is the catch , though . As we are a unique group , by definition we can ’ t buy the technology that creates network effects for us . We need to build it . Nearly half of the core products in our One System have been built by our technology team and they are used daily by our members : NurtureCloud , Pulse , Refer , Radar and so on . We have many new releases scheduled for the balance of 2023 .
Dan White Managing Director Ray White Group
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