PROPERTY A
PUBLICATION
NOW
ISSUE 8
WHAT’S INSIDE 2-3
Data: The property market’s COVID-19 rebound continues with strong results nationally
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Analysis: Queensland leads all states with another exceptional month of sales
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News: PEXA and Homes for Homes team up to end homelessness in Australia
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Industry: An update on interoperability and market structure
10-11
CX: Lisa Dowie, PEXA CCO discusses the connection between EX and CX
12-13
Around the grounds: The latest sales settlements numbers from across Australia
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PEXA Key: Learn more about our buyer and seller app
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More than 60,000 sales settlements recorded in February as our national market continues to strengthen By Jarrod McAleese
Summer has come and gone but Australia’s property market remains red-hot. February saw 60,508 sales settlements completed nationally, equating to a 28.2% rise year-on-year nationally, according to Australia’s leading online property settlement platform, PEXA. Five states recorded double-digit percentage growth year-on-year, with Western Australia at the head of the pack, experiencing an exceptional 55.6% year-on-year spike. South Australia closely followed, recording 35.4% year-on year-growth.
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February numbers compared to January’s results were similarly healthy as four states saw month-on-month increases in property transfers. PEXA Senior Research Manager, Mike Gill, said that the numbers nationwide were reflective of the sector’s current positive climate.
“It’s exciting to see February’s numbers build on the strong start to 2021. Though we saw exceptional results across the country, there were some notable standouts – particularly in Queensland. “The state had already had a terrific start to the year and this continued recording more settlements than its larger neighbour New South Wales in February, which is certainly an impressive feat.” After a slightly down month in January, Victoria quickly bounced back with a busy February.
“It was pleasing to see Victoria recover and record 9.2% month-on-month growth – the highest nationally. And though New South Wales was the only state to experience a month-onmonth decline, Gill believes this was likely an isolated blip. “This result was driven by lower new listing volumes in January, however new listing levels did increase significantly in February – a positive indicator for March market activity.”
Sales settlements January 2021
Sales settlements February 2021
Monthon-month change
Year-on-year change
NEW SOUTH WALES
16,034
14,131
-11.9%
27.5%
VICTORIA
16,503
18,027
9.2%
14.4%
7,471
7,791
4.3%
55.6%
15,435
15,768
2.2%
31.6%
4,361
4,525
3.8%
35.4%
59,804
60,508
0.7%
28.2%
State
WESTERN AUSTRALIA QUEENSLAND SOUTH AUSTRALIA NATIONAL
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Queensland leads east coast property surge By Aoife Garvan
All eyes are on the property market this year as the country bounces back from a tumultuous year of restrictions and COVID-19. Each state is experiencing its own unique recovery patterns, including Queensland. Recent insights from PEXA show the state spearheading an early year surge in Australian property transfers, recording an increase of more than 30% year-on-year in all sales settlements for January and February. The sunshine state has outperformed other traditionally strong markets on the east coast with more than 31,000 property sale settlements being finalised in the first two months of 2021. New South Wales and Victoria have also started the year with positive momentum.
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Mike Gill, Senior Research Manager, PEXA, said there are a number of contributing factors to Queensland’s strong performance throughout the summer period. “These results are indicative of heightened sales activity and price growth in the second half of 2020 for Queensland, leading to a positive flow-on effect for 2021 settlement volumes across the state. “Furthermore, there’s been an unseasonable shift in selling behaviour with the season starting much earlier to meet increased buyer demand,” said Mr Gill.
Since 2014, more than 7.5 million transactions have occurred via PEXA, and today, more than 80% per cent of all property transfer settlements in Australia are processed on the PEXA platform. PEXA experienced a significant uplift in digital transactions across Queensland in 2020 as a result of COVID-19 restrictions.
role of digital technology is rapidly shifting, from being a driver of marginal efficiency to an enabler of fundamental innovation, it’s pleasing to see such a significant uptake of settlements across Queensland to the tune of 30% year-on-year in all sales settlements. And that’s just the last two months!”
“We are proud to play a role in providing digital, secure and importantly non-contact property exchange to facilitate the rapid growth of these transactions in Queensland, with more than 50% of Queensland property settlements now completed digitally via PEXA.
And Antonia is eager to see continued progression of the digital movement in Queensland.
“Special mention must go to the lawyers, financial institutions and all those in the property settlement process who displayed flexibility, innovation and collaboration to make the buying and selling of property as seamless as possible during an extraordinary 2020 and into 2021,” said Gill. The rapid growth of digital transformation across the industry is certainly not going unnoticed by leading industry members. Antonia Mercorella, CEO of the Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ) says, “with widespread recognition among industry leaders that the
“PEXA has already revolutionised the transfer of real estate by removing the need for physical attendance at settlement and facilitating the secure, electronic exchange of documentation and funds online. The REIQ is actively working on behalf of its members towards the goal of industry digitalisation post COVID-19 with a view to bringing it into line with contemporary legislation. And with Queensland’s property market currently outperforming other major jurisdictions across Australia, now is the time to advance digital technology across real estate so as to keep pace”, said Antonia. The Australian property sector’s promising recovery from COVID-19 places us in an enviable position in contrast to many countries across the globe. While the next few months will be key, these trends are certainly encouraging, thanks to the country’s progressive, digital-first focus.
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Homes for Homes and PEXA – a partnership to tackle homelessness By Isabelle Harris
Homelessness in Australia is on the rise. In 2016, the ABS census reported that there were more than 116,000 people without a home, up from approximately 102,500 in 2011. Notably, the highest rise in people experiencing homelessness was recorded in those between the ages of 25 to 34. Homelessness can stem from many factors, including family violence, financial difficulties or inadequate supply of affordable dwellings. Homelessness is not always sleeping rough, but also includes dwellings that lack security or safety, are unstable, or
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lack privacy and the ability to control the living space. In an effort to address this nationwide issue, Homes for Homes and PEXA have announced a new funding partnership in a targeted effort to help end homelessness in Australia. The partnership will see PEXA contribute at least $250,000 in funding to Homes for Homes across two years via a national grant disbursement program.
The funding represents a significant milestone in the work undertaken between the organisations. Homes for Homes is a social enterprise that asks property owners to donate 0.1% of the sale price of their property to Homes for Homes. These funds are then pooled and disbursed to community or social and affordable housing providers to increase the housing supply for those who need it most. Tracy Longo, National Operations Manager at Homes for Homes says the more donations that flow, the more Homes for Homes can do to increase social and affordable housing supply. “We have found through our grant funding program that Homes for Homes can be the difference between a project being feasible, and a project not being able to get off the shelf because it just doesn’t have the funding behind it” she says. To date, more than $940,000 has been raised across eight projects, with the not-for-profit on track to raise over $1 billion for social and affordable housing over the next 30 years. PEXA, Australia’s leading digital property settlement platform, began embedding the Homes for Homes donation mechanism into its technology in 2018, helping to grow the program’s scope by using its wide audience and subscriber base.
Steven Persson, Homes for Homes CEO said Homes for Homes is thrilled to see PEXA extend their support during a very crucial time for social and affordable housing. “More than ever, a collaborative, sustainable solution is needed to end homelessness in Australia, and we commend PEXA for taking great industry leadership by committing to help solve this issue,” he said. “Homes for Homes will distribute this funding to community housing providers through a robust governance framework, meaning more people experiencing homelessness and disadvantage nationally will get to experience safe, secure and permanent housing.” PEXA CEO Glenn King said the organisation is passionate about extending help to put roofs over the heads of some of Australia’s most vulnerable. “PEXA is excited to evolve our partnership with Homes for Homes to build a unique shared value program that brings together our employees, members and government partners to assist in solving a significant social issue facing our country,” he said. “We spend our days focussed on getting people into their homes, and tackling homelessness is an important and necessary extension of that work.” To get involved in Homes for Homes, contact them via their website. 7
An update on interoperability and market structure Australia’s adoption of digital settlements is the most significant development within the property industry in 150 years. Since 2014, more than 7.5 million transactions have occurred via PEXA, and today, more than 80% of all property transfer settlements in Australia are processed electronically on the platform. As a result of this digital-first focus, the Australian property sector has been able to continue to operate throughout a challenging and ‘contact free’ 2020. In fact, the market Australia-wide has gained considerable momentum post the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions, 8
generating year-on-year sales growth. The state and territory governments that regulate e-conveyancing have committed to make some changes to accelerate competition. Known as ‘interoperability’, the changes seek to make it possible for competitors to enable clients to participate in transactions. Governments and industry are working together to develop national interoperability specifications for current and future Electronic Lodgement Network Operators
(ELNOs) to enable providers to “interoperate” with one another. This work is being led by the Australian Registrars’ National Electronic Conveyancing Council (ARNECC), with PEXA sharing its expertise to help build a workable approach. Regarding the current market climate, PEXA Chief Operations Officer Simon Smith said, “PEXA is supportive of the progress being made. As at the end of February, key design principles have been progressed for interoperability architectural models that will support diverse and sustainable competition. “Critically, we believe that customers and users of the system must sit at the heart of the solution.
“PEXA has additionally recommended that the next phase should be dedicated to creating opportunities for ‘hands on’ perspectives from participating subscribers to have a say on the emerging design.” “PEXA has argued strongly for the continuation of shared workspaces, so that all participants can see what needs to be done to complete a transaction. We will also be focused 100% on the preservation of member experience and retention of the current very high levels of system stability and security.” ELNOs have committed to designing technology around the best possible customer journey—how a conveyancer, lawyer or financial institution interacts with ELNOs under interoperability scenarios. The concentrated work program is ongoing, and PEXA will continue to share updates on major milestones via Property Now – watch this space. 9
When your employees love your business, they’ll love your customers By Isabelle Harris
Customer experience is at the front of every organisation’s mind; from small businesses that work intimately with customers to large organisations that have hundreds of clients. It’s integral to driving business development and engagement. Among CX professionals, the connection between employee experience (EX) and customer experience (CX) is being viewed as increasingly vital. And to deliver a truly exceptional customer experience, companies must ensure their employees are passionate about their mission and well supported in the workplace.
Lisa Dowie, Chief Customer Officer at PEXA, speaking at a recent CXFocus event, shared that employee experience needs to respect everything from individual differences and home lives to mindsets and capabilities. “Just like we segment customers, we
Meeting the needs of customers need to do the same with employees In this age of technology and particularly in the aftermath of COVID-19, today’s customers are demanding more. Naturally, organisations have to rise up and meet these expectations. For savvy organisations, this is where cultivating strong EX is key. Employees that are nurtured and valued at work inherently perform better, which in turn encourages them to go above and beyond for their clients. 10
to ensure we are addressing their needs, attitudes and behaviours.
“The pandemic reminded us and illuminated that work is not a place we go, but something that we do. If our customers are the heart of our business, it’s our employees that make that heart beat,” she said.
Putting the spotlight on EX In sharing these insights, Lisa also explained that while PEXA’s digital business remained open through
lockdowns, maintaining existing employee support networks meant customer commitment never waned. “Supporting our employees was key in empowering them to play their part in supporting our customers, and indeed the property industry. “We understood early on in our journey that to attract customers and build long-term loyalty, we needed to create a culture where we put our employees first. Enduring COVID-19 only served to reinforce this belief.”
Customer and employee experience connection insights are rapidly progressing and will likely be integrated in more organisations as the pursuit of true customer centricity continues. Successful organisations will have to nail EX to enhance CX, particularly in our new post-COVID setting as both experiences have been profoundly changed and are unlikely to ever be the same.
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Around the grounds
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QUEENSLAND Sales settlements January 2021
15,435
Sales settlements February 2021
15,768
Month-on-month change
2.2%
Year-on-year change
31.6%
NEW SOUTH WALES Sales settlements January 2021
16,034
Sales settlements February 2021
14,131
Month-on-month change
-11.9%
Year-on-year change
27.5%
VICTORIA Sales settlements January 2021
16,503
Sales settlements February 2021
18,027
Month-on-month change
9.2%
Year-on-year change
14.4%
SOUTH AUSTRALIA Sales settlements January 2021
4,361
Sales settlements February 2021
4,525
Month-on-month change
3.8%
Year-on-year change
35.4%
WESTERN AUSTRALIA Sales settlements January 2021
7,471
Sales settlements February 2021
7,791
Month-on-month change
4.3%
Year-on-year change
55.6%
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Do you have feedback, a question or a story pitch? Get in touch with us at industry@pexa.com.au
