Letter to Santa. Been Naughty or Noice? > $100m in ’24

Sunday, December 15th, 2024

Mal James

Buy Sell Agent

0408 107 988

mal@james.net.au

Well, Santa, I’m not sure if you’d call me naughty or noice this year, but I do know my 2024 has been filled with joy.

Here’s a glimpse of our 2024 highlights, then some of the best in the business (agents) give their opinions, then some wonderful Christmas Stocking Stuffers and we finish with an unbelievable final result on money raised for African Children’s Wing!

It’s all to help you decide if we’re worthy of a visit; after all, we are agents and advocates by trade, and we know at times, you’ve accidentally missed us in the past on your busy schedule!

2024 has been a great year for real estate if you love people and a tough year if you love money. We’ve gotten to know our clients better than ever, not just because we’ve spent more time with them but also because our successes have been more hope-fueled, more heartfelt, and more hard-fought as we navigated a market where certainty was far from guaranteed.

At the start of the year, we found myself locked into Bayside with two significant buy-sell deals: $12 million and $25 million. Both involved families I’ve known for 10 and 20 years, respectively—one upscaling as their children left home and the other downscaling as their kids approached that same milestone.

These transactions spanned most of Bayside, and they were solid and needed outcomes.

One of the standout moments was the Hampton-Brighton move. The property had been largely demolished yet we sold for more than what we had paid for the complete home two years earlier—despite a dramatic drop in the Bayside market during that time.

Thank you to Zali Reynolds, Stefan Whiting, Rob Fletcher, Andy Nasr and Stephen Smith, Bruce and Karyn, Churchie and Jane

Speaking of Bayside, Santa, this is an area I don’t think I’ve fully mastered yet, despite my renewed focus with an new office on Church Street and a partnership with the brilliant Zali Reynolds of Shelter Real Estate. What puzzles me is why everyone in Melbourne doesn’t flock here to live—and why those who do are often so quick to undervalue their homes when selling.

Too often, sellers in Bayside simply accept what “the market” dictates through rushed, one-size-fits-all auctions that fail more often than they succeed. I’ve always believed in planning a sale properly, trying off-market first, engaging multiple agents, and staying the course until we achieve what a home in Brighton, Hampton, or Brighton East truly deserves.

And yet, Bayside remains underappreciated. Even The Age’s food critic seems to have missed the memo. In their roundup of Melbourne’s best dishes for 2024, not one mention south of the Yarra! Well, Santa, let me set the record straight with my own 12 Days of Christmas culinary highlights:

Ladygreen Brighton: Their prawns and nappa cabbage spring rolls with nuoc cham, and the okonomiyaki with slaw, lime crema, sticky guava, and furikake—both under $20—are Friday lunch perfection.
Brighton Hotel Steak Night: A $25 Tuesday steak that’s consistently restaurant-quality.
Brighton Waterfront: Two-course lunches with fresh seafood, white tablecloths, and ambience for under $50.
True South, Black Rock: One of Bayside’s best spots for a beer on a hot day.
Elwood Bathers: Prawn sliders and unbeatable beachfront vibes—sorry, Crown Casino, this is Melbourne’s true waterfront dining experience.

And let’s not forget local gems like Brown Cow, Sons of Mary, Repeat Offender Roti Boti, Vivace, Best Pizza at Cucina and the iconic and still great The Pantry.

And the Partridge in the Pear Tree is House of Bread on Martin Street Brighton between say 5.30am and 7.30am… best coffee, best people….we love you John and Greg and Les and Pam and Evelyn. Don’t change, you are a Pellegrinis-like Melbourne Institution. Not an Age food critic in sight on some of Melbourne’s best!

Bayside isn’t just about food, though. It’s the only suburb with four train stations, boasts more private schools than any other, and has the highest number of doctors per capita in Australia.

Not to mention it’s half the price of Toorak and twice as close as Sorrento!

While the Toorakians, Kews and Malvonians flock to Sorrento and Portsea each summer, I’ll be here in Brighton, enjoying quieter streets, sun-soaked beaches, and safe swimming spots. The only sharks here wear suits—whoops I am one of them!

So Santa, phew, I need a sherry break—but let’s continue.

I was a bit of a nomad in the middle of 2024, moving metaphorically our hired-gun business up Toorak way. There weren’t as many deals as last year, but they were just as powerful and just as sweet.

The best of April, May, June, and August were these four below: two were hard-fought auctions, and two were quiet off-market transactions away from the limelight. If you’re counting Santa, these four alone totalled over $30 million, and all were purchases.

Thank you to Campbell Ward, Gina Kantzas, The Tomlinson Clan, Scott Patterson and Sam Wilkinson, Grant and Claire, Rosannah and Tim, Jess and Liam, Helen and Jeremy.

One over $8m was for a downsizing couple whose Kew home we sold last year for north of $19m. Another was for a couple upsizing in the same suburb, near Gascoigne, through a volcanic EOI over $7m. One was for an overseas family moving to Melbourne for school considerations over $9m, and the final was for a beautiful young couple starting their family life together over $5m. All of these came as referrals from clients who had worked with us before.

Santa, on all of the above, our clients were nice, the agents we bought from were nice, and the results were nice—or noice if you are a classy Aussie. But during this time, I/we may have been a little naughty.

Why naughty? Well, there was this home in Anderson Park, Hawthorn East. We watched a huge auction on a similar block nearby: 432 bids, sold for $5.8 million. Multiple agents quoted us around $5 million for this one in Mowbray.

But instead, we with our clients were naughty and we went off-market via EOI with multiple agents and secured well over $6 million from the only buyer who came through twice. We spent nothing on advertising—just some quality photos—and were simply patient. You know, the one thing we big kids need to be until December 25.

Second, we were naughty when, after bidding and buying at maybe 1,500 auctions, I decided to call one myself. (Video breaking the Cherry.) We got the chockies, well our clients did, so to speak. And yes, I looked like I had a Santa-sized weight problem—maybe we both need some Ozempic in our stockings.

Why did I do it? I like a challenge, and no local agent was taking this little corner of the world seriously, so we stepped in. Boy that’s pretty arrogant hey, pretty naughty Santa.

Thank you to Annabelle Feng, Chris Barrett, Andrew “gibbo” Gibbons, Kellie O’Neill and congratulations to Simone Clarke for running an impeccable campaign. Thank you to Maddie and Ross and John and Kath.

We also completed the second sale of the year for Kylie and Randall and two more for Lisa and Matt, Megan and Jordan – thats another $16m Santa, but whose counting. Thank you to Paul Richards and Anthony Johnson

Now, let’s wrap up with this month’s bigger deals—it’s been hectic, with four big Chrissie pressies totalling (I know you like numbers Mr Claus) another $25 million.

One was connected with a gold mine and gold miners and it was super interesting to buy. Another was for a lovely lady and her daughter moving from (of all places) Dicky Beach to not-so-dicky Malvern. A third was the sale of a commercial property for a family I’ve known for nearly 50 years. It took all year and involved five agents, but in the end, we achieved an unbelievable price in this—or any—market. On that one, Santa, I was maybe a bit naughty again… sorry!

Thank you to Jono and Simon, Richard, Matt, Di, Stephen, Mike and Deb, Amber, Julian, Amanda and Phil, Abby Innes, Big Jack B and the Tomlinson clan again.

And then, one of the best for last. You know when you’re looking, looking, looking for the perfect pressie, only to find someone else has seen it too—and they’ve got plenty of money? How do you buy it?

Santa, you have your secrets, and I’ve got mine. Let’s just say, for a family in Flinders, Christmas came early. It’s a spectacular home.

2024 had its challenges, but we started the year with an absolute miracle on Hampton and bookended it with a miracle on Flinders.

Santa, I hope that’s still good enough to earn a visit and let me/we keep doing the best job in the woooorld in 2025.

Thank you, Santa. Thank you, fellow agents.Thank you, Shelter and James Buy Sell co-workers and collaborators. Thank you, market news reporters. And a huge thank you to our clients (many I have not thanked here sorry like Sriram and Lauren and many others, sorry) and referrers—there’s no better job.

Sim, Kathy, and I are so grateful to you, our readers, for putting up with this writing stuff since 2006.

So Santa I admit, I was naughty this year, but I hope you’ll agree we were mostly noice!

From my family to yours, Merry Xmas, Happy New Year and Peace on all Earth, see you after Africa, raring to go Australia Day 2025!

Carla Fetter

Jellis Craig

How did you find this year? It was a year of two halves. First half we felt like the market had regained momentum. Sales were easier to make, and the buyers were more willing to do deals. Come August, though, it felt as if the tap turned itself off. Volume increased significantly and at auction, buyers retreated. Plenty of deals were done but with a lot more heavy lifting.

How have you found this last month? Not sure why, but our December month has been our quietest on record. With the exception of a phenomenal result at 5 Union Street, Armadale, sold via a twilight Auction and many hundreds of thousands of dollars above reserve, our team has been involved in fewer deals. I’ve quite enjoyed being a little quiet and focusing on planning for 2025

What do you think of early 2025? The market needs a break, which is exactly what it will get from now until late Jan. With the market retreating down to the Mornington Peninsula or Aspen, I’m expecting buyers to return feeling refreshed and ready to do deals. I’m anticipating a healthy volume of buyers searching for property in the first quarter. Properties that are priced right will sell, and vendors who want above market rate – best of luck to you!

Thanks Mal for the opportunity to contribute. I love reading your Market News each week!

Zali Reynolds

Shelter Real Estate

Hope the below helps.

How did you find this year? I think there is one word that sums up this year for me and for the real estate market and that is restoration. A lot of buyers and sellers took stock this year, some having to make hard decisions but resulting in a more steady and normal market.

How have you found this last month? Interesting. I am a positive person but after a strong start to the spring selling season the market is limping to the finish line. I do think that everybody is tired and ready for a break.

What do you think of early 2025? I think it’s going to be fun. I love the freshness of a new year and I think everyone is ready to thrive in 2025!

Rob Fletcher

Forbes Global

How did you find this year? The upper end of the market (above $10m), has proven resilient compared to other sectors with more transactions occurring in our office quietly and off market than predicted.

How have you found this last month? With greater confidence of what the Spring market has produced in terms of opportunities and initially, some sales – buyers are becoming more engaged on key generational assets and we expect to trade a number prior to Christmas/end of year.

What do you think of early 2025? Largely more of the same though, the feedback from our contacts in the USA are very positive about 2025 and the economy there which may help provide a platform for an increase in positive sentiment.

Andrew Date

Industry Insider

Thanks for the opportunity.

How did you find this year? This year has been one of the most challenging in our 9 years of business. Buyer hesitation was a recurring theme, with borrowing capacities significantly constrained, particularly in the $1.5–4M market. On the upside, we were able to secure exceptional properties for clients who blocked out the noise.

How has the last month shaped up? We’ve noticed a slight uptick in buyer urgency as the year draws to a close, with many keen to finalise deals before Christmas. Investor activity has also increased, particularly from NSW buyers. Just this week, we’ve had discussions with three IT professionals and two doctors planning to invest in Melbourne in early 2025. They see great value here compared to Sydney and recognise Melbourne’s affordability advantage.

Looking ahead to early 2025 I expect the market to continue its “flight to quality,” with more investor-led sales emerging. A key date to watch: 22nd February 2025. This will be a major litmus test for the market as we anticipate a significant volume of auctions going under the hammer.

Tim Picken

Buyer X

Thanks so much Mal, see below mate

How did you find this year? I have found the year to be pretty steady. Certainly from a buying point of you, good AA grade homes have become more achievable to buy at fair value rather than under super strong competition. But due to a lack of choice for quality homes, demand has stayed solid.

How have you found this last month? The last month does feel like things have weakened further, and the market has become very price sensitive. That is due to the increased supply to some degree, which always happens in late Spring. Certainly, anything comprised of apartments has got much tougher over the last 6 weeks.

What do you think of early 2025? It really will depend on stock levels in Feb and March. I feel it will probably be slightly better than right now, but while rates are where they are and the federal election in May, it will be patchy and continue to be a buyer’s market. Looking forward, we will get serious growth and confidence in the market with 4-5 rate cuts and a possible change of state government down the track.

Jen Dwyer

Belle Property

Thanks, Mal for including me

How did you find this year? Interesting! Some surprises along the way, with solid results on many and other properties that continued to challenge the market (buyers, sellers and agents alike ). Nerves of steel needed throughout the year!

How have you found this last month? Buyer activity has increased with the end of year looming large – motivated vendors + buyers = SOLD 😀. An uptick in enquiry from sellers looking to make a move in 2025, hoping to ride the optimism and hope of a New Year.

What do you think of early 2025? I believe we’ll see people turn the corner in a more positive mindset with the expectation of interest rate relief at some stage in the year ahead. I expect prices to remain solid and interest in properties to be competitive, if priced correctly, they are well located and presented well.

Scott Patterson

Kay and Burton

How did you find this year? Overall a positive year. The Boroondara market has been more buoyant than other parts of Melbourne, so I am grateful for that.

How have you found this last month? The past month has been patchy. We have had a couple of very strong results driven by overseas buyers but also we have seen some well-credentialed homes not attract buyers.

What do you think of early 2025? I think we will see stock levels increase and demand improve. As always, quality homes will continue to achieve premium prices.

Business as usual.