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Property News Sydney's Housing Market As usual, the statistics, and comments from professionals in the property market in Sydney, are mixed. Numerous selling agents reported a drop off in listings and numbers attending inspections in February and March. However, the Sydney median house price grew 5% last year. The significant fallback in the local sharemarket is having a double-edged impact on the property market. Some will feel less rich (especially some at the top end of the market, where there should be some slowing in purchases funded by the recent excesses in the financial sector). On the other hand, following the end of 4-5 good years of growth in the sharemarket, some will now be looking at the property market as the vehicle for growth over the next 4-5 years. The extent of that growth will depend on a number of factors, some of the most significant of these being the general state of the economy, interest rates and the state of the rental market. The wide variations in Sydney's market was again in evident in the first quarter of 2008. The top end of the market flew along with records set for apartments and houses. But whilst most commentators have been focusing on the booming expensive suburbs and, at the other end of the spectrum, the long-suffering West, most of the rest of Sydney has quietly been moving upwards. In areas like the Inner West, for example, properties under $900,000 steadily increased in value over the past six months. As the year ended, many properties were being hotly contested at auctions, and whilst there is no sign of the 'heady ' days of 2001/02, it is clear that the markets in some areas of Sydney have bottomed out and prices are on the way up again. There is some evidence that investors are returning to the market. There were over 8000 attendees at a Property buyers Expo in Sydney in late March and various exhibitors reported high interest (as they would, of course) from potential investors. However, some areas of Sydney are still in the doldrums. So, for the buyer, there is no single purchasing strategy at the moment. (Yet another reason to use a buyers' agent!). There are still some bargains out there, in some suburbs, and reasonable reductions off listing prices can be achieved. However, in other suburbs, the strategy is to identify the 'fair' price now and purchase, because waiting for the bargain will only cost money in the long run. Auctions The auction clearances in Sydney during April was 53%, a slight improvement in the 50% clearance rate experienced in March. Some other statistics:
Summary If you have been thinking of buying (especially if you are an expat, new to Australia or first homebuyer) then, in most cases, now is a good time to get moving in the Sydney market. Rising rents, the flight from the sharemarket and the recent lack of growth all point to growth in the Sydney market. Of course, mortgage cost is still a concern for many buyers. With inflation outside the range preferred by the Reserve Bank there is still the possibility of an increase in official cash rates in 2008. However, in the medium to long term i.e. late 2008 onwards, the expectation is that rates have peaked. Indications are that the market has bottomed in many (not all) suburbs and, as long as those larger financing costs are planned for, the long term picture is generally quite positive.
Art of Buying - Real Estate Buyers' Agents Sydney |
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