I can’t believe it is already the middle of March. The days, weeks and months seem to passing more and more quickly. If feels like only yesterday that I was writing my February Market Update.
Just a quick reminder that last month I launched my new website www.joshuawygoda.com Please check it out and let me know what you think. On this page you will find links to my Blog, my Facebook page, my Twitter page and my YouTube channel. In addition to this monthly update I regularly post property related information to these other portals. Please feel free to subscribe to any or all of them.
The last month has been a busy time. The number of properties on the market are at the highest they have been for some time and it seems there are some excellent opportunities for cashed up buyers.
I have had number of pleasing results the most recent two over the past week. A penthouse apartment at 9 The Esplanade Balmoral Beach and a near new 5 bedroom home at 18 Upper Spit Rd Mosman. The reason I mention these is because they are both properties in the upper price range and for both properties we experienced better than expected levels of interest. Is this a sign that the top end is bouncing back?
Lets get the bad news out of the way first:
1. The European Debt crises still dominates the headlines and although it seems as though the Eurozone have implemented measures to prevent Greece from defaulting there is still much concern.
2. Unemployment locally is also a concern, with several big companies announcing job cuts in recent weeks. While we’re not seeing rising unemployment on any major scale at the moment, if it were to blow out significantly from here it would likely have a damaging effect on property values and rents.
3. The banks have now made it clear that the days of routinely following the Reserve Bank’s moves on interest rates is over and have in fact increased their rates despite the RBA leaving rates on hold for the last 2 months. This will cause some insecurity among borrowers. When the RBA drops rates, it’s usually a sign our economy needs a boost and in the past, homeowners have been able to count on mortgage relief during these periods but recent banks behaviour suggests that consumers may no longer have the comfort of lower repayments if our economy slows.
Now the good news:
1. Buyer enquiry is still strong and we are seeing good numbers attending open home inspections. The under $1-million market is still the strongest segment but there’s good interest up to $2-million and even beyond. We are seeing a substantial increase in enquiry for upper end properties. While it’s too early to tell whether this increased level of enquiry will translate into sales its certainly a step in the right direction.
2. There a sense among buyers that after waiting it out in 2011 the market has now bottomed and now is the time to buy with many properties representing excellent value in the current market.
3. Auction clearance rates are consistently above 50% and approaching 60%. To me this indicates that prices should continue to grow.
4. Stabilisation is what RP Data is calling it. Sydney has been the best performing market with dwelling values up 0.8 per cent in February and 0.7 per cent over the quarter. Prices also rose in 6 of our 8 capital cities and in almost every major regional city. According to the figures, Sydney has a major undersupply, excellent rental returns and a strong history of long-term capital growth. Hopefully after a period of stabilsation we will begin to see property prices head upwards.
5. Rents are up and vacancy rates are low. Rents in Sydney have increased over the past 12 months by an average of 7.4% with suburbs such as Cremorne increasing by a reported 11.7%. This is great news for investors. I also read a report that because of rising rents and a shortage of rental accommodation, renters are deciding to buy, increasing the number of buyers in the market place.
6. Overseas investment continues and we are still seeing a large proportion of international buyers. Australia is seen as both politically and economically stable and we are also the third largest provider of international education behind the US and UK, with one in five of our university students from overseas (of which about 20 per cent from China alone) according to the Bureau of Statistics. Studying here allows their parents to fund the purchase of an established property for them to live in, as well as for investment. We are also seeing these families who can afford larger homes are seeing opportunity in today’s market.
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