Leadership insights ahead of crucial RBA call

When Dan White speaks, you listen. And so it was that you couldn’t hear a pin drop at our recent Collective property market event at The Calile Hotel. Last week I wrote a full rundown of the key takeaways, but I wanted to make a special mention of Dan’s comments.

As Managing Director of Ray White Group since 2015, Dan has experienced the swings and roundabouts of the property market, so it was worth hearing his take on the current climate. Two of his comments resonated most with me.

First, he emphasised the market’s underlying strength, noting that the number of properties the group sold across Australia in March matched the previous March. Buyers are finding comfort in bricks and mortar. He also pointed out that government policy can outweigh global crises, citing lending incentives that are driving buying behaviour, such as first-home buyer schemes.

Dan’s overall point was that the market is far more active and resilient than some media headlines would have us believe.

Let’s take a look at the data. Cotality’s national home value index rose 0.3% in April, dragged lower by Sydney and Melbourne, where values fell 0.6% over the month. Not so Brisbane, which saw growth slow yet still recorded a 1.2% month-on-month increase. Looking more closely at Brisbane’s luxury market, Ray White Group economist Atom Go Tian says it has grown by 133% over the past decade.

“The cities that have grown fastest share a common thread: demand shifted before supply could respond,” he said.

“Buyers from interstate and overseas arrived with capital and a clear idea of what they were looking for: not just a property, but a pace of life. Lifestyle became a legitimate substitute for proximity to a CBD, and the premium that once attached almost exclusively to established city addresses began to migrate toward coastlines, open space, and the particular freedom that comes from living somewhere you actually chose.”

Much of this relates to Queensland’s coastal markets, but it is relevant to Brisbane as well, where lifestyle is a key driver behind the rise in high-net-worth buyers.

I hope you enjoy the read.

Matt Lancashire