The Crunch with Crib

​Ben Hatch, Director at Harcourts Mandurah, joins Jess and Shane for a career-spanning chat that starts in car yards and ends up running one of WA's most consistently successful offices. Ben walks through Mandurah's wild ride, from the mid-2000s holiday home boom driven by overseas investors to the brutal GFC crash that saw prices more than halve and buyer enquiry dry up almost overnight. He breaks down the data-driven systems behind his office's success (right down to tracking database conversion rate by the percentage), his hard line on recruiting and rehiring, and why customer service, not ego, is what actually builds a career that lasts. Plus his take on where the Mandurah market sits right now.

Long overdue, this ep we're talking to someone from Perth's northern corridor! James Bosdet from Professionals Northern Coast Real Estate works Jindalee, Alkimos, Eglinton, Butler and Yanchep and he got there the long way: three-time BDM of the year before switching to sales full-time just two years ago. What you'll take away:Negativity vs reality: Days on market went from 9 to 21 and listings roughly tripled, which sounds like a crash but is really just the market catching its breath. James reckons the only people getting caught out are the agents who overpriced. The stock is still moving and people still need places to live.Infrastructure doesn't ring a bell: New train stations, a Costco, the freeway extension. All good for the area, but the growth happens in the anticipation, not the day someone cuts the ribbon. A few other things he flagged from Jindalee, Alkimos and Eglinton:The market isn't crashing, it's normalising. Days on market moved from 9 to 21 and listings roughly tripled. In most markets, tripling the stock would be a collapse. Up here it's still under supply. The agents getting caught out are the ones who overpriced to win the listing.Investor heat has cooled. Inquiry that ran close to 50% investors at the peak is back around 20 to 25%, with owner-occupiers, downsizers and first-home buyers filling the gap.Have a listen, then send it to anyone still reading the headlines.

It's a new financial year so we pulled Shane in for his read on where the Perth market is sitting. His take? The market hasn't crashed, it's corrected, and that's a healthier place to be.What you'll take away:"Less panic, more logic." Owners stuck on the peak they think they missed are ignoring the years of growth behind them. Buy at $420, watch it hit $920, sell at $850 and calling that a $70k loss is a trick your brain plays. You never had the $920.The lag in data is the real trap. Sales from the hot Jan and Feb run in low-volume suburbs like Wembley are only settling now, and fresh sales stay off the public record for another 12 to 16 weeks. Today's real prices are softer than what's showing online, so honest, live conversations matter more than ever.Mind the 5% deposit scheme ceiling. With the median house price now over $1M and the scheme cap sitting at $850, buyers get squeezed right above that line. A buyer using the scheme can finance at $849 but not $855, which quietly caps growth just under the cap.Predictions to bring back in December: listings pushing toward 6,500 by the end of August and 8,000- 9,000 by year end as investors sell into the new financial year, plus a tightening rental market. With immigration steady and investors chasing every dollar of rent, Shane reckons rents and prices both climb.

The final stop on our regional tour, recorded live at REIWA CONNECT. Jess and Shane sit down with Elliot Briers, Sales Manager at Kalgoorlie Metro Property Group, and he showed us exactly why he's one of WA's top agents.In this ep: Growing up with a builder dad and Kal's #1 agent for a mumWhy he sells cashflow, not capital-growth dreamsThe Eastern States investors who started the fire while locals watched onTrades shortages when the mines pay $40/hr moreThe locals who can't afford to leave town, even after doubling their moneyPlus the best steak in Kal and the tour everyone queues for (it's not the Super Pit).Enjoying The Crunch? Follow the show on Spotify so you never miss an episode, and if this chat gave you something, leave us a rating and review. It's the best way to help us reach more people in WA real estate. 🎧

​Recorded live at REIWA Connect, we sat down with Lara Sadowski and Warwick Neville from Geraldton Property Team for a snapshot of one of regional WA's most talked-about markets.Geraldton's median house price has jumped from $350K pre-COVID to around $650K, and Lara and Warwick unpack exactly how it happened. From east coast investors buying sight unseen during lockdown to buyer's agent calls going from almost none to 60 a week​ to where we sit now.In this episode:The 0.2% vacancy rate and what it means for renters and investorsFirst home buyer reality: what $650K gets you and why bank of mum and dad is doing heavy liftingBuild costs jumping from $1,200 to $3,000 per square metreThe two-geared market: why $750K-$850K is the sweet spot while million-plus listings stall​Why Warwick says the market is at 11:59 on the property clock ​and their best advice for buyers and sellers over the next 12 monthsPlus the all-important verdicts on Geraldton's best coffee, pub meal and the mystery roadhouse pie.