Chris Tonich - WHITEFOX.Perth

60+ days on the market and still not sold?

Is it time to change agents or is it time to change strategy?

When a property isn’t selling, it usually comes back to one of three things:

Price. Marketing. Agent.

The key is identifying which one is holding the campaign back and making the change before your property becomes stale in the eyes of buyers.

Sometimes the property didn’t fail.

The strategy did.

Perth is entering peak selling season.

If you’re thinking about bringing your home to market, don’t start by preparing the property.

Start by choosing the right agent.

A good agent will tell you what’s worth doing, what isn’t, and where your money is best spent before going to market.

That advice alone could save you thousands in unnecessary preparation, while ensuring the work you do actually adds value.

Strategy first. Preparation second.

If you’re buying a home this weekend, spend less time worrying about the market and more time understanding what you can comfortably afford.

Know your borrowing capacity, allow for interest rate fluctuations, and think long term.

Because if property is a medium to long term hold, you’ll experience multiple market cycles along the way.

The key question: Can you comfortably hold it through them?

I’ve sold hundreds of apartments off the plan across Perth, and if I was buying one for the first time, these are three questions I’d ask.

It’s easy to get caught up in the renders, finishes, and the lifestyle, but there’s more to consider.

What are you actually buying?

Who’s delivering it?

What happens between signing and handover?

Buying off the plan can be exciting. Just make sure you’re asking the right questions before you sign.

I get asked a lot, where is the Perth property market heading?

There’s no one size fits-all answer.

One key factor I’m watching is the relationship between land value and the improvements on that land.

In many established suburbs, land values have reached a point where replacing older homes with new construction is becoming financially viable.

That new construction helps establish a higher benchmark for property values.

Short term pricing may fluctuate, but where land values support new development without overcapitalising, the medium to long term fundamentals remain strong.

It’s not just about what property sells for today. It’s about what it costs to build tomorrow.

PerthHomes RealEstateInsights WHITEFOXPerth

Perth doesn’t have a land problem. It has a viability problem.

Drive through any of our inner suburbs and you’ll pass them, tired C-grade commercial buildings on well located sites, already zoned for density. Each one is an opportunity waiting for the right conditions to make it work.

The land is there. The zoning is there. What’s often missing is the numbers stacking up for a developer once you add planning risk, holding costs and time.

That’s where local councils matter. When they work with developers rather than around them, projects move from “maybe” to “feasible”. Feasible projects become dwellings. Dwellings become choice for buyers.

Nobody solves a housing shortage with rhetoric. They solve it with sites that work.

Chris Tonich
WHITEFOX