So far this year we have seen a return of buyers to the market along with a new influx of buyers who we have not previously met. Some of these new buyers have made offers and are in the process of securing new homes already.
The talk among Agents is largely around these new buyers feeling they are buying value, whereas some of the older buyers are misinformed with a perception that they have seen the market sliding during their search and are expecting even more. All we know is that we will not be sure when we are at the bottom, until we see the market start to rise again.
Perhaps these new buyers have decided the data indicates a near enough bottom level to buy and the upcoming years will take care of the rest, a sensible attitude to a traditionally long-term investment.
A Domain economist charted an 11% decline in Sydney prices since the market peak in June 2017 whereas some of the Upper North Shores suburbs have seen an increase over the same period, albeit a decline in the 2018 calendar year.
An important note over the same period has been that ‘Owner occupier’ home ownership has jumped to 60% and ‘first home buyer’ ownership has also increased.
There is also a 12 month prediction of relatively flat growth.
Currently we are seeing average days on market sitting at around 65 days, whereas the National average is up at 70 days. During the peak we were seeing this figure as low as 25 and 30 days in most of our core areas.
Interestingly, RPData has indicated that listings have increase by 10% this year compared to last across Melbourne and Sydney. Further, sellers are discounting around 8% compared to about 5% during ‘the peak’.
Next week will be interesting with the release of the findings from the Hayne enquiry, which began as an investigation into the practices within the banking industry and has now become a whipping post for the finance, investment and property sector for over 6 months.
Thomas Merriman.
Thomas Merriman 