Over Supply, Little Demand...

Working as a South Yarra Property Manager for a high end Developer in 2012, I saw the rush of sky rises being erected. Each and every possible space along Chapel Street Become a "Boutique" building. My favourite transformation was a car park along Clifton Street, Prahran. An apartment complex with the car park still surrounding the small complex seemed comical to me.

What wasn't so comical was the oversupply and little demand when it came to leasing. So many humongous buildings were being built with 80-200 apartments in them, so the prospects had too much choice. The finer details then came into play, did you have a pool, a gym, a library with free wifi, sauna or spa's with city views. No longer would a split system or dishwasher get the deal across the line, it was now an expected. Many first time investors or overseas investors were depending on you as property Manager to minimise the vacancies and get the perfect tenant.

No matter how lovely you’re professional photos were or competitively priced you were, the market was slow. I remember standing out the front of a property and thinking “I could hear a tumble weed go past”. If an online enquiry came through to my email, I would jump on the phone and professionally beg for them to make a private appointment with me. It was tough. Over the 12 month period we had so many in one building that if prospects came to view one apartment and it wasn't suitable we would show them others on different levels. The average vacancy period were 6-8 weeks, I could almost finish Michelle Bridges body transformation in that time frame!

 When an application would finally come in via email, Property Managers would do a happy dance whilst making a proud announcement to their neighbouring colleagues 'I got an application'. They knew how hard it was to come by one and would shortly celebrate with you. No longer did we dread the call to the Landlord each week explaining that there was no result. I become a ninja reference checker in 2012, stalking past Property Managers and HR Departments until I got the all clear. The heavens would open and your mind would sing halleluiah whilst wiping that address off the White board. Now it seems this market has followed me to South Melbourne... Show, lease, eat repeat.