Property News Snapshot: 16 May, 2023 – Ep 4: Nick Skapoulas

Episode 4

Host: Ben Williams, Head of Investor Relations at Homely
Guest: Nicholas Skapoulas, Owner & Director of Nicholas Scott Real Estate

The Property Snapshot dives into the most important property market discussions of the moment – just a snapshot of our discussions with living legends of real estate from The Upshot Podcast.

Homely is proud to welcome Nicholas Skapoulas from Nicholas Scott Real Estate to the Upshot Pod. A big supporter of Homely, Nicholas’s career has been extensive, dating back to 1988 making him one of the first apprentices of the REIV. Taking over the help of Nicholas Scott Real Estate in 1997, Skapoulas revitalised the brand in the vibrant and competitive Inner Western suburbs of Melbourne. Passionate about the people and the culture of Footscray and its surrounding suburbs, Skapoulas is nevertheless a steadfast Collingwood supporter and family man.

Nick’s take on current property news

Demand in the property market is still high – even with limited stock.

Nick:
Buyer demand is still quite high. We’re still at record levels for inquiries, which is fantastic. It’s also relevant to the stock levels and the quality of the property you’ve got. So I think it’s all relative. You may break it down with A grade, B grade and C grade apartments and townhouses softened a little bit – they are still active, but price-driven.

A-grade houses in good locations have incredible demand and great prices, they really haven’t dropped off. In fact, they’ve probably gone to another level. What’s probably helped that is the scarcity of trades and builders. The consumers are just scared about what’s going to come. So they prefer to spend extra on a fully renovated house.

And you know what, people aren’t handy. They just want a home and they don’t want to be caught up in the issues and the problems. Is anyone at fault, or is no one at fault? Probably likewise for both. So they prefer to take the safe path and buy a house that’s renovated.

Why are properties still being passed in if demand is so high?

Ben:
I was actually looking at a place in Kingsville a few weeks ago and that campaign had about 18 or 19 groups through and ended up passing in at auction – which was confusing to say the least. Are there general indicators for how a campaign is going at the moment, are they in the normal space or are you looking for different things to see if things are on track or off track?

Nick:
There are probably a few elements to that…the urgency isn’t there as much because people are scared and worried about the banks. They’re worried about the finance clause. The reality is, the goal is exactly the same for a vendor and a purchaser. It’s all about price and what that agent negotiates because they want to buy as a buyer, the seller wants to sell and get as much as they can. 

It’s that agent being able to accommodate that transaction that makes the difference to the campaign because, at the end of the day, we’re negotiators. We put a marketing plan in place and advertise on Homely and then just get an end result that’s satisfactory for both people.  

99% of the time, both are happy and the outcome’s great. But as for the auction process right now, there’s no urgency. So they don’t need to go on and bet if they don’t have to.

How are you guiding your current clients in these uncertain times?

Ben:
Are you recommending to your clients to go to auction at the moment or are you leaning more towards private sale in the current climate?

Nick:

We take each one on its own merit. Some owners want to control the space, some don’t care and want to run with it. So you can go either way and flip a coin, Ben. 

You know, there’s nothing worse, like you mentioned, than an auction where you have a campaign for four weeks – one that potentially hasn’t been handled 100% and you don’t get the right outcome. And to fold at auction is bad. 

9 times out of 10, there’s nothing wrong with the property. Maybe it’s just not been handled right and been given the right advice to get it over the line beforehand. And we’re in a hot area, the Inner West is really thumping. We have no shortage of inquiries, no shortage of demand and really there are only two reasons a property is not going to sell. You’ve either got a bad agent, or you’ve got the wrong price.

Ben:
So are you picking up any expired listings at the moment? Is that part of the strategy?

Nick:
We don’t love it because it’s not really good business. We want people to sell their homes, whether it’s us or anyone else. Just get the right advice, and get on the right track. I mean, there’s a lot of good agents in this area. We’re the best ones, of course.

And there are some bad ones like any industry, that’s just reality. Get the right advice and I hope they sell. But if they don’t sell, reach out, we’ll guide you in the right direction. It’s not just about a commission. We want harmony. We want happiness in our area. Because we’re here for the long haul. 

For me, it’s not just a sale today. I’ve been here since 1987. So I’ve seen it all. These cycles are going to come and go. Interest rates are going to come and go. I say, do good and you’ll get good.

I like Bill Evans, I really follow him well and he’s predicting one more, whether or not it’s tomorrow, being the first Tuesday or next month. He believes it will, but there’s so much uncertainty around it. Inflation, hopefully, is pulling back. So I think we will get one more, but that’ll be it. And then it’ll just pull back.

So I don’t think it’ll have too much of an impact on the overall market. 

Check out the full episode of The Upshot Podcast here.

You can find Nick:

• On the Nicholas Scott website: https://www.nicholasscott.com.au/

• On Homely: https://www.homely.com.au/real-estate-agency/nicholas-scott-real-estate-23794/properties-for-sale

• On socials: https://www.instagram.com/nicholasscottrealestate/?hl=en