A fresh face in CBD property

When it comes to property in Australia, there is no bigger name than Ray White.

Well, in fact, when it comes to Australasia, encompassing 1000 individual offices across Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, China and Hong Kong, there is still no bigger name than Ray White.

With a foothold in almost every property market in Victoria, Ray White is looking to grow its presence in Melbourne’s CBD, with one agent leading that charge.

Trent Bonnici from Ray White Southbank has carefully built his name and reputation with vendors and buyers throughout the CBD during the past 12 months; a time that has seen seismic shifts in the local market.

“It has been challenging at times with lockdowns thrown in, but working for Ray White, the largest real estate company in Australasia, we had plenty of support throughout and have definitely come out on the other side stronger,” Mr Bonnici said.

“Now, we are seeing a huge level of buyer activity, probably for a few reasons. There is still a lot of pent-up demand from lockdown and everyone trying to get into the market before impending interest rate rises.”

“There is not a lot of stock on the market at the moment, so, of course less stock means there is more competition for the properties on market.”

According to the Real Estate Institute of Victoria (REIV) the CBD’s apartment market was one of the highest performing in the state, with quarterly growth of 15.3 per cent from December 2021 to March 2022.

That’s an increase in $77,000 of value from $503,000 to $580,000 in that period.

Mr Bonnici said much of that growth was being seen in the CBD’s heritage or unique property market, resulting in great outcomes for his vendors.

“With the election coming up, a lot of the investor market will sit on their hands during this time, but we are still seeing a lot of activity from our emotional market; our first home buyers, our downsizers, they will still be the full force in the market,” Mr Bonnici said.

“I’m currently in private negotiations for a listing in the Boundary Building at 399 Bourke St. With 24 groups already through and 3000 views online, the demand for heritage homes continues to grow.”

“We run the auction process a little more structured than other agencies and I think our results for those properties reflect that. That just comes down to having a watertight plan in place from the start and ensuring that we are being proactive about it and tracking what exactly is going on.” •

For more information: raywhitesouthbank.com.au