A top broker has rubbished a survey suggesting Australians are flocking back to the property market.
A realestate.com.au survey has claimed nearly 60% of respondents are planning to purchase a residential property in 2013. But MPA Top 100 broker Daniel O'Brien of PFS Financial Services says he thinks the number of prospective borrowers is likely to be significantly less than realestate.com.au’s figure.
“That number doesn’t seem all that accurate to me, seeing as a good percentage of the population is retired or in university, etc. I’d say maybe half [30%]. There’s also going to be a whole bunch of people in the market who are not looking to upgrade or downgrade.”
O’Brien points to figures released ‘weeks ago’ that predicted buyer activity is going to be relatively low in 2013, provided the government don’t decide to reinstate first home buyer benefits.
“I think a lot depends on what the government does for first home buyers. A lot of people have stuck their head in the sand to wait and see what happens…If they bring out the FHOG again, that could see a bit of a spike.”
However, he says the best thing brokers can do at the moment is focus on the clients they have and not worry too much about aiming themselves at particular market segments.
“If I had to pick one I would probably say second time buyers and investors... But I don’t think we should be focusing on any area – I think it’s a matter of, if you do get a client, service the hell out of them.”
