Real estate guru ERUPTS over claims that agents are overpaid – as he predicts a

An Australian property insider predicts the next 12 months will be among the ‘greatest years for real estate’ sales in history – while also dismissing the perception that those in the industry are overpaid. 

Sydney auctioneer Tom Panos, who is the founder of Real Estate Gym, said in a clip recently shared to his social media that 2024 will be a bumper year for real estate, despite persistently exorbitant prices, recent interest rate hikes and the threat of more to come.

‘I’m not quite sure what the situation with interest rates will be and with price growth and price declines, but it’s very, very clear people want to transact,’ Mr Panos said.

‘It’s very clear people have accepted these are the property values we are learning to live with.’

Sydney has among the highest real estate prices in the world, and the median house price had soared by a further 12.1 per cent since January to a jaw-dropping $1.397million, CoreLogic data showed.

Queensland is also seeing near record prices in many areas, stopping younger people from getting into the property market as population growth soars.

Sydney auctioneer Tom Panos said he forecasts 2024 will be ‘one of the greatest years for real estate’ with the housing market to continue to be highly competitive

Mr Panos also responded to a question asking whether ‘real estate agents are overpaid’ and thus contributed to the cost burden for buyers, but insisted they were not.

‘There’s a lot of things the average consumer doesn’t see, agents list properties, they manage their pipeline, they do callbacks, they do vendor management, they do vendor reports,’ Mr Panos said.

He continued: ‘They do warm prospecting, they work with multiple hot buyers up to 25 at the same time, they work in the community, they’re putting deals together, they’re managing their diary and doing emails.

‘They’re attending settlements, they’re making sure their social media is on point, they’re attending valuations, pest inspections and pre-settlements – they do all of that and if the property doesn’t sell they get zero, so I don’t think they’re overpaid.’

Mr Panos, who does coaching for those in real estate sales, said agents have a good opportunity to earn commissions in the next 12 months if they take advantage of the competitive market.

The extent of the current housing bubble has even stumped new Reserve Bank governor Michele Bullock who said at an international conference this week that ‘housing prices are rising again, much to everyone’s surprise’.  

The prices continue to escalate despite official interest rates at a 12-year high of 4.35 per cent, and over six per cent for mortgage holders. 

The monthly variable mortgage repayments have soared by 69 per cent since May 2022, when the cash rate was still at a record-low of 0.1 per cent.

Mr Panos, who runs the Real Estate Gym, also said he does not think those in the industry are overpaid as they do a lot of work

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