Debate is swirling around Federal government forecasts that 1.5 million new migrants will move to our shores within the next five years. Critics say the country will not cope given the current housing shortage and rental crisis, while the government points to data showing migration will not catch up to pre-pandemic forecasts until at least 2029/2030 due to the historic dip in net overseas migration (NOM) of -85,000 in 2020/21 during the COVID-19 pandemic. Complicating the matter further is that anyone who has stayed in or has been outside of Australia for more than 12 months is counted in NOM – regardless of visa or citizenship status. Both permanent and temporary residents are included in the figures too.
Data aside, it is clear from Rose Buyers Agents’ perspective that interest from expats is at an all-time high. Gone are the days when they could enlist their friends back home to help them find their properties, simply because most of us are so time poor. Nor is it as simple as it once was. The current market poses the uninitiated a swag of challenges – from a severe shortage of quality listings to greater competition between buyers. Also, metropolitan areas especially are now filled with sub-markets within markets that only a real estate professional – such as a buyer’s agent - can deftly navigate.
“We’re surprised at the levels of expat inquiry that has started to flow in over the past few months,” said Rose Buyer’s Agents principal Simon Rose. “Interest is strong in both permanent residences and investments. Many expats we are speaking to will return within the year and so are keen to secure a new home. Others with more lead time are largely seeking strategic investment properties so that they will be firmly on the property ladder by the time they do decide to relocate.”
Interestingly, Rose Buyer’s Agents is also starting to field inquiries from new migrants needing assistance not only with the Australian property-buying process but also the language. “Regardless of their financial position, we are now being engaged by people for whom English is a struggle and have struck great difficulty in finding real estate agents with the patience and time to help them buy a home,” Mr Rose said.
“One current client has migrated from Italy and when he came to us he was so downcast as he’d missed out on a few properties simply because of the language barrier. Not only that he was even finding it hard to be taken seriously. He’s now finding our help invaluable - if we say so ourselves – and it’s because we have the time, the expertise and importantly the compassion to help.”
At the end of the day a buyer’s agent is worth their weight in gold to both expats and new migrants. Firstly, it is their job to do every bit of legwork across the property buying process for our clients, the buyers – from hunting for and finding the style of properties they desire, to negotiating selling prices and much more. “We save buyer’s time and ultimately emotional strain,” Mr Rose said. “Remember, a buyer’s agents buys and sells multiple properties each week and month. The average person does so once, twice and perhaps three times in their lifetime.”
Secondly – and most importantly in such a tight market – buyer’s agents have the rare ability to access off-market listings, the term used to describe properties for sale but not officially advertised to the market. Vendors choose to allow their properties to be offered off-market for several reasons, chiefly to avoid advertising costs and the bother of going through a selling campaign.
At Rose Buyer’s Agents we have a select group of agents across Sydney’s most desirable areas with a host of potentially suitable properties. Think of it as a property treasure trove and you’re on the right track!