The Agency continues to grow its national presence with the establishment of a high-performing team in Canberra.
The Canberra team are leaders across the residential, project and commercial space, bringing with them a pipeline of high calibre projects and residential listings.
Leading The Agency Canberra as head of ACT, prominent sales executive Sam Dodimead spearheads the strategic expansion of The Agency into the nation’s capital.
Mr Dodimead was most recently director of project marketing at boutique local Canberra network Blackshaw.
Having overseen more than $1 billion in real estate transactions, Mr Dodimead has been involved in numerous notable and highly successful projects across Canberra, which have sold out prior to their completion.
Aided with an intimate knowledge in site feasibility, acquisitions, planning and project marketing, his experience in working with developers to secure an array of development opportunities spans across land subdivisions, townhouse developments and high rise apartment buildings.
Mr Dodimead brings on board his team of experienced and high-performing team of Canberra agents; Luke Dent, Andrew Metcalf and Nic Geou. They are joined by marketing and operations specialist Anita Kell.
The Agency Managing Director and CEO Geoff Lucas said the launch of the Canberra office aligned with the company’s strategy to rapidly increase its presence on the east coast and grow in new regions.
“Our entry into Canberra is in line with recognising the nation’s capital as a significant growth opportunity for The Agency,” Mr Lucas said.
“Having grown businesses in Canberra previously, Matt Lahood and I have long seen this market as a critical region of potential.
“Canberra boasts low unemployment rates and higher-than-national-average incomes, coupled with a highly educated and skilled workforce.
“These factors, as well as Canberra’s liveability and appeal, have been strong driving forces in Canberra’s house price growth. Canberra will continue to be an attractive city for businesses, professionals and families. The arrival of international investors and skilled migrants is imminent, which will further propel demand for high quality property in the city.”
A growing food and wine scene, recognition as an arts and cultural hub, plus globally renowned exhibitions making a Canberra-only stop at the National Art Gallery, Canberra has well and truly cemented its place as an attractive and liveable city.
Canberra’s number one industry is government, which not only provides economic stability and a point of global connection, but attraction for developers and commercial property.
“Canberra’s geographical position is also significant, as its easy accessibility provides greater opportunity for our buyers and clients in the NSW Southern Highlands and Tablelands, Sydney and the Illawarra south coast region,” Mr Lucas said.
In 2021, the Canberra team sold 420 listings with a gross sales value of about $220 million.
The Agency Real Estate CEO Matt Lahood said the Canberra team’s expertise across a number of areas, including residential, commercial and project marketing, would give them a distinct edge in the market.
“The significant level of development currently in the pipeline of our Canberra team cannot be understated,” Mr Lahood said.
“The relationships and trust they build with developers is second to none, which has enabled the team to sell out projects prior to completion. The team drives such high sales volume it can be challenging for some to keep track of.
“The sheer number and scale of the projects underway across Canberra reflects the confidence from developers and investors in the long-term future and growth potential of the Canberra market, and underlines the increasing demand for commercial property.
“The team’s strong project marketing capability is complimented by the high quality residential sales arm of their business.”
Mr Dodimead said the team is geared up for a busy 2022, with numerous projects and listings in the pipeline.
“We are anticipating delivering $500 million in off-the-plan sales in the Canberra market in 2022,” he said.
“We are also expecting to have a very active presence in the commercial market. In addition, we have exclusively listed a house that is expected to break the suburb record in Canberra’s inner south by $1 million.”
“The Agency’s national presence gives us the ability to launch projects nationally, with scale, to a much wider pool of buyers, and introduce sites to more developers with greater acquisition power.
“As a business, The Agency works more harmoniously with its agents as compared to a franchise network. This is a credit to the unique business model and the way it allows us agents to leverage the strength of a national network.”
Canberra market trends to remain robust
The residential market remains strong in Canberra, which will remain a perpetual trend.
Despite the high median house price, the residential market remains affordable in Canberra given the high levels of household wealth, Mr Dodimead explains.
Domain data shows Canberra hit a record-high median house price of $1,074,187 in the September 2021 quarter, reflecting 32.4 per cent year-on-year growth.
The capital became the second most expensive city in Australia to buy a home, following Sydney.
“Canberra is a city of highly educated and skilled professionals, with high levels of household wealth,” Mr Dodimead said.
“I like to see it like this: It’s very hard to find a restaurant booking in Canberra, good restaurants are always full. If interest rates go up around the country, Canberra is very well insulated from this as households can afford to absorb the cost.
“The high levels of borrowing power also ensure the residential market will remain strong.”
The Canberra landscape has shifted since developers started to add density, Mr Dodimead explains, as with this comes more amenity for residents – cafes, bars and shopping in every suburb, which has improved liveability and created a greater sense of community for its residents.
“As a city, Canberra has high overseas migration rates,” Mr Dodimead said.
“Once borders open up again, we will have highly skilled migrants and professionals joining the public and private sector, which will help grow the economy.”
This trend has also led to high demand in the Canberra property market for investors, both interstate and international.
“People want exposure to a market that is correlated to the government, as the Australian economy is strong globally, and investors see that as valuable,” Mr Dodimead said.
“Rental yields are high and most properties are positively geared once they settle.”
