To start the week off with some good news, auction clearance rates did rise last week.
More than 50% of reported results in Sydney cleared, an outcome that suggests recent price falls may be encouraging buyers back to the market. Vendor price expectations may also be another factor.
As always, the story is not straightforward, and some are suggesting that vendors rushing to close sales and drop expectations may be the cause of this.
Despite this, some reports are suggesting that housing is still unaffordable. Our current experiences with first home buyers in the current market does suggest otherwise, as they emerge as the dominant buying force. In Melbourne, buyers are definitely seizing opportunities in high-end markets too.
With headlines like ‘The property price falls in Sydney and Melbourne are speeding up’ , it’s no wonder investors are running scared from our two biggest cities. As we’ve said before however, it is never a bad time to invest. We’ve currently got properties in Sydney and Brisbane for those interested. Hobart also seems to be performing well, and we can help you if you’d like something in Hobart too.
If you’d like a good analysis of the weakest markets, check out this article. There are some interesting insights and things to think about given the growth that has been happening in some regional markets, and the current debate around population growth and moving migrants to regional areas.
A new report has been released, this one from HSBC, indicating that prices will continue to decline next year.
Paul Bloxham, chief economist at HSBC Holdings , said that home values in Sydney and Melbourne are expected to decrease between 12% to 16% from their peaks. Prices are currently tracking downwards in both cities, with Sydney down by 8% and Melbourne by 5%.
The falls for 2019 are predicted to be from 3% – 8%. What actually happens remains to be seen. The mood so far suggests optimism for 2020, and we will start to gather some more information around that too. Have a great week!
