Total unconditional sales for the group in January and February 2025 was $12.2 billion, approximately 10 per cent ahead of the same period last year. This growth is due to a combination of increased market activity and improved market share.
Listing activity across our markets remains robust and consistently ahead of last year. Several interest rate cuts in New Zealand, and an interest rate cut in Australia in mid February, has encouraged many vendors to come to market despite the upcoming Australian election. Most markets are experiencing a finely balanced market that requires us to work hard with both vendors and buyers - a market in which we have always thrived.
Our property management teams have maintained consistency in properties under management, while dealing with further industry regulation and moderating rental growth.
Speaking of growth, we have been curious as to the reasons for our market share growth over the past five years. It has grown by approximately 25 per cent over this period, confirming that as a group we are on the incline.
A common assumption is that our market share growth has come from more offices and more selling members. Neither is true. Our operational foundations comprises 850 reporting businesses (some of these have multiple offices) and this number has not changed over the past five years. Within these businesses, we have around 5,000 productive agents - which is only four per cent more than we had in 2019. So despite having roughly the same number of offices and selling members, we have grown our market share considerably.
Why are we being more productive and efficient? We have identified three potential reasons. Firstly, while the number of offices in our group hasn’t changed, there has been significant change in the ownership of nearly 40 per cent of these offices - welcoming new leaders and partners that bring fresh ambition and new expectations. Secondly, insights from our Network Finance team tells us that our businesses have invested significantly in sales support over this period, with nearly two extra people per office providing support to salespeople and sales teams. This investment is a great sign of confidence from our business owners in their people. Thirdly, we have remained committed to the auction method and our auction market share has grown from 21 per cent to 24 per cent - we think this is more than just a coincidence!
While there is more thinking and analysis to be done, it seems that much of our improved productivity comes down to leadership, investing in our businesses, and remaining committed to marketing and the auction method. Who would have thought?!
