Q&A with Dominic Gibson... Managing Director of Melbourne Aquisitions

Melbourne Acquisitions is an award-winning Melbourne-based Real Estate Agency. 

Melbourne Acquisitions is led by Dominic Gibson; a fully licensed estate agent and auctioneer with 15+years experience in commercial and residential agency. 

Founder & Managing Director of Melbourne Acquisitions - an independent real estate service providing sales, marketing, property management and investment advice to landlords, investors and vendors. 

We recently sat down with Dominic to discuss his journey along with the current market trends and outlooks. 

Dominic, as founder of MA - what was the motivation for establishing the company? 

When I was about 15, I decided that real estate was of interest and the path I wanted to pursue. I left my last job to focus on post graduate studies and past clients would still come to me for advice. So I left my studies and the MA journey begun. 

What do you consider to be MA's point of difference in your service offerings? 

We are a small, responsive agency that can pack a big punch due to our extensive network, caliber of clientele and quality of staff. We don’t rely on expensive marketing campaigns when promoting property to get results and our team is very enthusiastic. Some who have spent many years in larger agencies in senior positions and have excellent market knowledge and interpersonal qualities. Our main business lines are sales, leasing, acquisitions and asset management. Primarily off-market brokerage. We provide our customers with acquisition and divestment solutions for office, retail, industrial, development sites and childcare. Our company also manages carparks, hotels, business parks, commercial offices, industrial and retail assets.    

MA have a strong network of developers and investors - what qualities do these people look for when appointing a Real Estate Agent? 

After 15 years in the industry it all comes down to relationship, accountability, competency and most importantly, your energy. In this business you are only as good as your last deal!

Dominic, we know that MA is regarded as an innovative marketer of commercial property - do you experience any resistance from your clients to invest marketing dollars into their sales campaigns? If yes, why do you think this is so?  

Some vendors can be a little apprehensive at first with marketing as they do not fully understand its impact and importance. However, a lot of our business is off-market brokerage which often requires confidentiality especially when ownership structures change, there may be planning sensitivities and so on. PermitReady has secured some great sale results for of our vendors and the enquiry received is generally very good in comparison to other websites.

The commercial market has been extremely active over the last few years, firstly do you see this trend continuing and secondly what do you consider are the key indicators for determining the state of the market? 

Well, supply and demand is what drives activity. Some things to keep an eye on are vacancy, supply, absorption, access to funding and planning restrictions. Other indicators we see investors typically look towards are interest rates, bond, equity and money markets. Luckily, Australia is one of the most transparent countries in the world to invest into property and the attraction of Melbourne being the world’s most livable city and population growth forecast is a major attraction for local and overseas investors. The residential development market has seen a lot of change primarily around planning controls and finance conditions in the same period and has taken some heat out of that market but there are still significant amounts of capital around looking for quality property and development opportunities. 

What's your assessment on the current level of commercial property supply? 

For the 15/16FY, there were less than a dozen recorded transactions in each of CBD, CBD Fringe and Suburban Office Markets ranging from circa $10m-$675m which suggests commercial office stock is being tightly held. Even sub $10m.

With the prevalence of new apartments, industry commentators have differing opinions regarding on-going re-sale potential and importantly consumer demand - what's your view on this subject? 

It appears there is no shortage of supply for new apartments, however demand for apartments by investors and occupiers varies greatly when you break it down. There is no doubt, buying off the plan can have its benefits and risks as does buying an established apartment or home. There is probably good value and choice for active buyers at present who are thinking long term when you look at the cash rate and population forecasts.