Lending:
At present we are witnessing banks taking longer to approve finance for prospective purchasers, possibly as a result of the ongoing Royal commission.
There is speculation that interest rates will rise, albeit at their lowest rate historically, buyers are nervous about this.
LVR or Loan to value ratio seems to be a bit more conservative at present which may be a result of the Royal commission, market sentiment, media coverage or all of the above.
Buyers:
There are still buyers in the market.
Currently Impacted by the above issues, buyers are acutely aware of lending hold-ups and the current media coverage of the doom and gloom of a stabilizing market.
Further, and possibly as a result of this, buyers are increasingly concerned about quality, presentation and position of property in this market.
Market:
This year across the Upper North Shore we have witnessed, at most, half of the usual sales recorded each year with only 2 to 3 months of potential selling to go.
We have seen an average of about 3% decline across the Upper North Shore with some suburbs having a little bit more and some with positive growth.
The Median sale prices have dropped but this may be impacted by the shortage of stock being sold.
Clearance rates are quite low with a lot of property selling prior and post Auction with buyers using the Auction as a way of figuring out price.
Agents:
Frustrated at the short-sightedness of the media coverage about the Sydney market as a whole.
Aggressively campaigning to remind buyers of the strong nature of long-term growth on the Upper North Shore and broader Sydney market.
Always positive.
If you have any questions or would like any further information or a report on another suburb, please let me know.
Sydney Auction results were below 50% at the weekend, most agents would not have scheduled an auction on a long-weekend so this would have definitely accounted for these lower results.
Thomas Merriman.
Thomas Merriman 