Positive Signs of a Recovering Property Market

Weekly Market Update with Leigh Martinuzzi MPG 

The RBA has the cash rate on hold. Inflation seems to be easing. The housing market remains short on the number of houses for sale. Buyer confidence is building. I see more buyers entering the market to do their research in search of their next home. Rental prices keep rising to make buying a property more appealing than renting. Immigration numbers are also on the rise. Last week Sydney saw a gain of 0.2% in property prices while Brisbane 0.1%. Overall property prices across Australia were up 0.8% last week. Keep in mind this was during Easter week when we’d expect the property market to be somewhat slower.

Looking towards the USA, they seem to be in a similar situation, albeit several months ahead of us here on the Sunshine Coast and in Australia. In America, property prices have seen positive price gains year-on-year.

Don’t get me wrong, with the recent and rapid rate rises many people will be feeling financial pressures. I expect we will see a slight lag effect of this truly kicking in over the next 6 months. Regardless, it looks as though we’ve avoided a total property price crash in Australia. The average time to sell property in Australia has extended, and buyers are certainly still showing caution, not wanting to overpay! Yet, we are now seeing good signs of a recovering marketplace. Auction clearance rates are always a good sign of improving buyer confidence, and last week, the auction clearance rates in Sydney and Melbourne were up.

A few charts were shared by Matusik this week that are worth sharing. Enjoy!

AUCTION CLEARANCE RATES

• Queensland – 39% (201/1021)
• NSW – 64% (835/1289)
• Victoria – 65% (752/941)
• ACT – 54% (81/77)
• South Australia – 73% (115/285)
• Tasmania – NA (1/123)
• Western Australia – 43% (7/644)
• Northern Territory – 50% (4/16)

*(Auctions/Private Sales)

REVIEW(S) OF THE WEEK 

Seller of House

Leigh’s knowledge of the market was very sound. The marketing campaign he proposed was exactly what was needed to achieve the maximum result for the sale. His communication skills were very good by keeping us informed on a regular basis. We found Leigh positive and professional at all times. We would not hesitate to recommend him and his team to prospective sellers. – Seller 

Fantastic Palmwoods agent

We have bought and sold a number of properties through Leigh. He works extremely hard for all his clients, has great communication and is very reliable. We wouldn’t use anyone else! – Seller