Mark Sproule brings more than two decades of real estate experience across Melbourne and regional Victoria to his position as a senior sales consultant at Kay & Burton’s Hawthorn office.

He understands the ongoing appeal of Boroondara’s suburbs for families, business people and downsizers alike, drawn to its impressive homes on large blocks near transport and schools, period properties and low-maintenance townhouses and apartments. He has also embraced social media and the internet as a valuable tool for increasing reach and selling properties.

Outside work, Mark enjoys playing tennis at the Camberwell Tennis Club, the AFL, spending time with his teenage sons, cooking and entertaining family and friends.

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WILLIAMS MEDIA spoke to Mark Sproule about the Melbourne property market.

What effect have lockdowns had on the market in your area?

The lockdown has dramatically affected our market in Boroondara. Campaigns are a lot shorter with property being sold which had the luxury of just one or two open home inspections prior to lockdown. We also have qualified buyers registering to bid for our on-line auctions, both local and interstate buyers, who are prepared to buy sight unseen. Videos of the home have been extremely beneficial and instrumental in affecting these sales. We are also seeing more specific demand from buyers looking for property with large outdoor spaces and extra living rooms for families coping with home schooling and working from home for the unforeseeable future.

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What are your predictions about the market over the next 12 months?

With the strong numbers of qualified buyers enquiring on property over the past six months being well in excess of supply, we don't envisage the market slowing down at all. Coupled with low interest rates, the horizon for sellers over the next twelve months looks very positive.

What advice you would give to vendors for the best outcome?

With the current market conditions favouring sellers, we recommend short auction campaigns as the best method of sale to absolutely maximize their outcome / sale price. We are experiencing anywhere between 5 - 20 buyers registering for our online auctions. Of course, you ideally need to have the opportunity to offer buyers 2 - 4 viewings to drive the online auction process.

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What advice do you give buyers?

For buyers searching for their principal place of residence, it's very important to obtain pre-approval of their finance / borrowing capacity, as properties are selling very quickly once coming on to the market, with many selling prior to auction as vendors fear other lockdowns are imminent.

What are buyers saying?

Buyers are saying flexible living spaces are important to allow for home schooling and working from home options.

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What are vendors saying?

Vendors are asking when is the right time to sell. Although Spring is traditionally the busiest time for the Melbourne real estate market, we are advising sellers to sell as soon as their home is ready for sale. Currently, buyers aren't travelling due to Covid and are ready to go, so traditional school holiday lulls won't be apparent for the coming six months (possibly longer) due to these restrictions.

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Where do you see demand coming from?

Demand for property in Boroondara is very strong across all price points, including young buyers entering the market for 1 & 2 bedroom apartments / units in the $600,000 - $1,500,000 price point, as well as family buyers upsizing in the $3 - $10 million bracket.

Currently, demand is mainly from local buyers, with pent-up demand now also coming from interstate buyers and expats who want to return to Melbourne, motivated by the global COVID crisis.

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What personal hobbies/interests do you enjoy in your down time? 

In my downtime I really enjoy walking the 8km trail around my suburb, getting to the footy, camping around country Victoria and hiking, cooking, dinner parties and any opportunity to eat out with friends, family and clients.

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What is one thing you have learned over your years as an agent?

The one thing I have learned over my 25 years in real estate is to always be conversational, vulnerable, and completely transparent with both sellers and buyers which inevitably builds trusting, long term client relationships.

Source: Kay & Burton

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