With more than 30 years’ experience, Lisa Frances has witnessed huge change in the real estate industry. We spoke to Lisa about her real estate beginnings, the boom-and-bust of the 80s and 90s, and the ongoing evolution that keeps things interesting!
How did you get started in real estate?
Back in 1987 when my children were little, my then husband decided he wanted to swap roles and be a stay-at-home dad. At the time he was a settlement agent, so he enrolled me in a real estate course.
What is one of the most significant changes you have seen in real estate?
One of the most significant early changes I witnessed was in the early 1990s when the government made it illegal to on-sell property.
In the early 80s houses were cheap – the median house price was around $55,000. But following the boom the median house price almost doubled, reaching $109,000 in 1989. Then in the early 1990s interest rates soared to 17 per cent, resulting in a bust.
During the boom, crazy transactions were happening. For example, a buyer could put in an offer of $50k and following the 8-week settlement period, the property’s value could have increased to $75k. The buyer could then request the agent to on-sell the property to another buyer before the settlement date was reached, making a huge profit of 50 per cent of the original purchase price in just a few weeks.
This was eventually shut down by the government.
What do you see as the biggest challenge for real estate professionals over the next five years?
I think the biggest challenge moving forward for agents will be communicating with older clients who are sometimes less tech savvy. For example, clients have told me they need to seek help from family or friends to sign contracts using DocuSign as they find the process overwhelming. They would prefer the agent visit them to explain the details of the contract.
There are many elderly homeowners who will need to sell and downsize. I take the time to get to know my clients on the first meeting, ask them how they prefer to communicate, and how they want to complete paperwork.
What are the benefits of selling property off-market and how do you ensure you get the best result for your clients?
Selling off-market has numerous benefits. Sellers can avoid costly marketing and the inconvenience of frequent open homes (this is especially helpful for families with young children). Off-market sales usually have inspections by appointment only with buyers who meet specific criteria. This usually leads to a quicker and smoother sale.
Buyer’s Agents have also become increasingly popular due to the lower number of properties for sale. Buyer’s Agents usually search for off-market properties to present to their client as a benefit of recruiting their services.
ProPropertyGroup has a database of more than 30,000 contacts and coupled with my own group of developers and Buyer’s Agents, both locally and interstate, I can confidently offer my clients the opportunity to sell off-market.
My sellers know that if they don’t receive an acceptable offer after a couple of weeks, they still have the option of placing the property on the open market to expand reach.
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