Firstly,
Happy New Year!
It seems like the property market has made a resolution to not only recover the last few percent of the depressed 2018/2019 market but to take us into a new period of growth!
Majority of the areas that impact us are not only increasing in price but have multiple bidders at Auction (if they make it) and are showing no signs of slowing down.
The Central Coast has shown up to 75% of its enquiry is coming from Sydney.
The Upper North Shore is seeing a lot of enquiry from the Lower North Shore, Eastern Suburbs and a lot of buyers who are planning to sell locally taking advantage of the growth early in the year to move.
The Lower North Shore is struggling to pick up stock much like most areas of Sydney.
Local market:
Sydney had an 80% clearance rate over the weekend. So far this year we have sold 100% of Auction property. Further, most of the stock we have listed so far has sold in the first week.
Some property that is priced well is getting a lot of interest within the price guided range and properties that have a little bit more to offer i.e pool, level land, multiple living areas and room for in-laws or guests are going well above the guided price.
It is hard this early in the year to pinpoint the exact price of a property where we are trading in a different environment from last year. We sold 2 Yanilla Ave, Wahroonga for $2,330,000 at Auction Saturday morning which was $455,000 above reserve price with absolutely not a single comparable property remotely close to that price.
Most of the property we have on the market is getting over 50 buyers through the first inspection and these buyers are looking like they’re ready to buy!
Wider market:
I read recently that Australians savings accounts are up over the past 12 months, with people saving money on incidentals and extravagant extras they have would usually be forking out for like expensive dinner and holidays. Of course not to take away from the people who have suffered the complete opposite.
Some of the early figures were that Australians as a whole have put away something like $87B more in savings this past 12 months than the 12 months before. That coupled with the lowest interest rates on record and an almost guarantee not to see an increase in the next 2 years is largely what we can attribute to the macro contributors to this positive sentiment.
Banks:
Low interest rates battles continue to rage on. Brokers are recording the highest amount of applications and subsequent approvals in a long time.
Interest Rates (RBA):
As above, interest rates remain on hold at the lowest on record with no sign of going up and some speculation on a drop. I would not think a drop is needed, especially for those relying on SMSF and term deposits etc.
Thomas Merriman 