September has set the scene for the season to come

Overview

Our office achieved 10 sales this month.

• Although there is truly an undersupply of property on the market, auction clearance rates remain unshakeable.
• Usually when clearance rates lift, stock increases, competition lifts and subsequently, prices rise. It is when owners expectations realistically meet the current market trend that a successful sale takes place.
• There’s clear opportunity on both the seller’s and buyer’s sides at the moment, and stock is being sold fast – many through private treaties at full asking price.
• Dwelling prices in Sydney are growing at a rate of more than 1% a month. The question on everyone’s mind is whether these changes will result in continued growth over the longer term.

Market changes and DIB CHIDIAC performance

The shift in confidence and activity in the housing market continues since May’s election. The ripples of the removed threat to negative gearing and capital gains discount, interest rate cuts and a relaxation of regulatory rules & shortage of properties have pushed prices up again.

With record auction clearance rates and rising dwelling prices, this month has pulled buyers strongly into the market with the confidence that they cannot sit around waiting for prices to fall further. With ample opportunities for those looking to buy and those selling, we recap the important and interesting market news for September that provides us with some insight into what we can expect between now and the Christmas season.

Lending and loans – what has changed?

Figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics this month showed a steep rise of 5.3% in new home loans following the Reserve Bank's continued cuts to interest rates. Some surprising, key statistics to come out of their latest report are:

• Investor loans were up 4%, its strongest monthly gain since 2016.
• The value of NSW home loans lifted 5.4%.
• Newly built home purchases up 10.7%

Canada Bay ranked 8 nationwide for longest average hold period

If you’re in the market but haven’t been able to find the right property as quickly as you’d like, it might be because not a lot of people are selling. One contributing factor is that Australians are hanging onto property much longer than ever before.
Canada Bay ranked number 8 for the longest average hold period in a nationwide comparison, with a whopping average of 15.7 years. Nationwide, homeowners on average are clinging onto their houses for 11.3 years, 3.8 years longer than they did ten years ago.

Property now defining who we are

The days of people being identified by their job or salary are effectively over. New research by academics at the University of Sydney explored the way in which people’s measurement of their own success has evolved to fit into a society where wages have remained stagnant and property prices rise.

Academics leading the project stated that while most people were seeing their wages barely grow, those who invested money into property usually benefited from much higher gains in house values.
Getting into property, aided by a tax system that rewarded people the more they owned, was now the defining characteristic of society.

Where is our economy taking our property market?

The Australian economy may have fallen to its slowest rate of growth in a decade, but it has also shown remarkable resilience which not impacted the property market. UBS economist George Tharenou stated this month that he expects that interest rate cuts and the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA)’s easing of credit will create a housing "mini-boom," predicting price rises of 5-10% over the next year.

We’ll continue to keep our finger on the pulse of the market, and share that knowledge with you throughout your buying or selling journey.