In this week’s news edition:
From news.com.au comes this headline ‘First home buyers’ ultimate dilemma amid falling house prices’. It’s like the media will do anything to find a negative headline.
Notably, first home buyer activity has increased (from 12.9%);
After strong falls in Sydney (down 8.2 per cent) and Melbourne (6.5 per cent), first home buyers now represent about 18.1 per cent of the market, according to Australian Bureau of Statistics’ October figures.
The dilemma being spoken of is should buyers wait or buy? Our opinion? Don’t wait, especially if you want to buy off the plan. You can read more here.
Meanwhile, if you want a state rundown on performance, you can find one here.
From AFR, comes Eight ways to profit from a falling property market, a really good summary that answers the dilemma posed in the article discussed above. In short,
“It’s never been so good for buyers,” says Emma Bloom, a director of buyers’ agency Morrell and Koren. “They should be waiting like a tiger in the long grass for the right moment to strike.”
The outlook for those renting while saving for a house is also brighter because falling prices make it easier to save a deposit and increased competition for tenants as housing supply rises means landlords are anxious to find or retain tenants by lowering – or capping – rents.
In case you missed it, the biggest news last week was that APRA has removed the interest-only lending cap, saying it has served its purpose
Australian Prudential Regulation Authority chairman Wayne Byres said restricting interest-only home loans to 30 per cent of banks’ new mortgages, and the 10 per cent annual growth cap on lending to property investors, had “served their purpose of moderating higher-risk lending, and supporting a gradual strengthening of lending standards across the industry over a number of years”.
This is simply another reason why buyers should not wait, because investors will start coming back into the market before you know it.
Merry Christmas everyone!
