Rich Harvey

each suburb has got individual characteristics and it's got its own supply and demand drivers.

But what I can say, generally speaking, the mood of the market and where it's at right now is that we've seen the Sydney prices drop around 4.5%, Melbourne around 2.5%.

When we got that first rate hike in the May federal election, that signalled a dramatic turnaround for property owners.

It's turned into or turned from

a seller's market into a buyer's market, but not in every area.

So what we're seeing is some areas are seeing quite significant price discounts.

We're seeing like prices have already dropped 10% or more, whereas some suburbs in the regional areas and some of the coastal areas, very, very low vacancy, and the prices are still creeping upward in those markets.

So Craig, what I'd say is that buyers aren't necessarily in the box seat.

Rising interest rates are weighing very heavily on people's borrowing capacity and their budgets.

And a lot of vendors are actually holding off choosing to list their property at the moment.

So that limited supply of property still means the purchasers need to bargain hard when they're buying.

Craig, the very first step that I take is to treat the agent with respect and in a professional manner.

In my rounds on the weekends or during the week when I do my open homes, I see so many buyers that have complete distrust and disdain for real estate agents and treat them like dirt.

And guess what?

If you treat someone like that, don't expect to get any information or favors in the negotiation process.

It's just going to put the agent offside.

So I think it's critical to understand how agents think and operate.

So the minute you walk into an open home or call up an agent, they're sizing you up.

They're trying to work out, does this person have the money and are they genuinely interested in this property that they're selling?

And those sales agents, they've typically been extremely well trained in negotiation and sales tactics.