There is no doubt that our property markets have slowed down considerably over the last couple of months.
So how are those who sold their house recently feeling? 
Not surprisingly national research by RateMyAgent revealed property sellers are beginning to feel unhappy with housing prices, as vendor price satisfaction decreases by 5%, which may be in response to COVID-19.
RateMyAgent’s asked over 20,000 successful vendors if the sale price they achieved was above, below or in line with their expectations.
Key findings:
- In response to COVID-19, vendor sale price happiness reduced 5% nationally during April
- Metro areas saw the largest decline in vendor happiness of 7% in April
- Property market has had a strong first quarter with the national net vendor happiness up 17% YoY from Q1 2019
- Australia’s happiest and unhappiest states revealed
Percentage of Happy Sellers - States ranked (from happiest to unhappiest):
- Australian Capital Territory (45%)
- South Australia (40%)
- Victoria (40%)
- Tasmania (39%)
- New South Wales (37%)
- Queensland (37%)
- Western Australia (27%)
The first quarter of 2020 showed a substantial increase in overall price satisfaction and a recovery trend, with net vendor happiness increasing 17%, from 25% in March 2019 to 42% in March 2020.
The rise in satisfaction can be attributed to strong house prices, as the property market recovers across New South Wales and Victoria – both states saw satisfaction rates double between March 2019 and March 2020, showing positive sentiment in the market.
This satisfaction in the market can be seen significantly across Tasmania, with the state (55%) overtaking Victoria (48%) this quarter as Australia’s happiest state.
But then things changed
In contrast, as government-mandated regulations and physical distancing measures came into place in response to COVID-19, April vendor price satisfaction dipped nationally.
Tasmania led the drop with a 16% decline in seller happiness and was followed closely by Victoria and New South Wales.
Mark Armstrong, CEO of RateMyAgent said,
“The Price Expectation Report shows us that the initial impact of COVID-19 on the market wasn’t as severe as expected, as the housing market has proven to remain resilient.
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While we still need to analyse the long-term effect of the pandemic and keep a close eye on economic conditions, we are seeing the industry begin to recover, particularly with the easing of restrictions and a slight drop in the national house price.
What’s great to witness is how high-performing agents have adapted and learnt new ways to remain ‘undisruptable’ while continuing to provide exceptional customer experiences in an ever-changing property market.
We will be closely monitoring vendor price satisfaction in the coming months, to see if industry predictions regarding June as the new March or even Spring (with more stock coming into the market) will come to fruition.”
In response to uncertainty, metro areas saw the largest drop in vendor happiness.
Robust property markets in Melbourne and Sydney saw declines of 10% to 16% respectively.
While regional areas in Victoria and Queensland saw a reduction in vendor happiness between four and one per cent.
Contrary to this, property markets in Queensland (4%), South Australia (1%) and Western Australia (1%) have initially seen a steady increase in price satisfaction in April, with the remainder of Q2’s results to determine the full impact on the real estate market.
The decrease in unhappiness was seen across all price segments, but most dramatically across the premium end of the market, which consists of home sellers with property valued at more than $1.5 million.
In April these vendors saw a 21% decrease in price satisfaction, reducing the total of happy sellers from 46% to 25%.
The April results reveal the ACT as the happiest state (45%), with joint second place going to Victoria and South Australia (40%), followed by Tasmania (39%) and New South Wales and Queensland (37%) and trailing last, Western Australia (27%).
