Newsletter: The year to come in property

Happy New Year from all of us at Century 21 Mosman!

2010 Wrap

The second half of 2010 was characterised by a stabilisation in property value growth nationally – which until June had been on an unsustainable 17 month run of consecutive gains. The runaway rise in home values in 2009 and early 2010 were spurred by a number of factors, including the first homeowners boost, low interest rates and a quickly recovering national economy.

Some of this growth was actually recovery from the slip in property values we saw in late 2008. The end of the first homeowners boost in January 2010 and successive interest rate rises throughout the year both contributed to the stabilisation of home prices in the second half.

Overall, the Australian property market in 2010 has been one of the strongest in the world. A report released by Canada’s Scotiabank has ranked Australia number 1 in house price growth amongst 12 advanced economies, at 9.4 % growth (Sept 09 – Sept 10), beating out second place France at 6.8% growth.


2011 Forecast

We are reasonably optimistic at this point about what lies ahead in 2011. At worst, we anticipate property values in the Lower North Shore will remain stable, and we predict the number of property transactions will increase on the back of a relatively sluggish 2010.

Already we have been pleasantly surprised by the high level of buyer enquiry on properties that hit the internet in late December and the first week of January – we held 4 open houses on the first Saturday of the year, which is unusually busy for so early in the season. This is encouraging for the months to come, and suggests the autumn season will see more sales in the Lower North Shore than in the previous six months.

There have been conflicting media reports about the year to come, but we agree with the RP Data analysts that point to the projected growth in the Australian economy in 2011 of over 3%, decreasing unemployment, strong population growth and a continuing undersupply of housing to keep property values stable this year. In spite of the high currency rates, we also predict increasing overseas investment because of Australia’s relatively strong economy and stability by global standards.

We’ll be sure to keep you updated as the year rolls out with our monthly updates. Also, look out for our Century 21 Market Reports, which outline sold properties statistics by suburb at the end of each month. If there is anything else we can do to be of assistance with your property needs in 2011, please do not hesitate to contact us.

All the best for a fantastic 2011!

Joshua Wygoda & Emily Jessee
0414 666 190 / 0404 721 546
Century 21 Mosman
www.century21mosman.com