Property Investors are back and are stimulating the Australian Housing market

According to research by Australian Property Monitor’s, investors are now completely filling the gap created by the first home buyers  after the grant reductions at the end of last year.
 

APM’s most recent Quarterly Housing Report – Australia recorded solid house price growth over the June quarter as investor activity mitigated the fall in demand from owner occupiers and first home buyers.

APM’s economist Matthew Bell said the positive results came as a surprise, particularly given the six interest rates rises in recent months.

 
“Most markets around the country saw modest growth for the quarter, contributing to the continuing high year-on-year figures,” Mr Bell said.

 
In what was the fifth consecutive quarter of house price rises for Sydney, house prices increased by just over 2 per cent and unit prices were up by almost 3 per cent, pushing annual growth to over 13 per cent – well above the long-term trend.

 
The current Sydney median house price now sits above $625,000. A little different to Seaforth $1,320,000, Balgowlah $1,124,000, Balgowlah Heights $1,690,000, Clontarf $2,420,000, Fairlight $1,150,000, North Balgowlah $1,100,000.

 
“APM expects further price growth moderation in the next three to six months as the low levels of housing finance and the risk of further rate increases weigh on the market. However, the medium-to-long-term outlook for property prices remains strong, and we expect the 2010 annual rate of national house price growth to settle in the eight to 10 per cent range,” said Mr Bell.

 
On the local front we are continuing to sell through the traditionally quiet winter with Glen Wirth & Michael Buckley today selling 29 Ernest Street, Balgowlah Heights prior to its scheduled auction on the 7th of August.

 
Wishing you all the best in your property search,

 
The Team at Richardson & Wrench Seaforth Balgowlah.
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See you at the open for inspections: Click Here for our open times
To keep an eye on this week’s reported Seaforth real estate, Clontarf real estate, Balgowlah real estate, Balgowlah Heights real estate and North Balgowlah real estate Click Here*
*Sales are as reported by Australian Property monitors on 30/7/2010

Happy 15th Birthday R&W Seaforth

On Wednesday this week the Winning Team at Richardson & Wrench Seaforth had its 15th Birthday.

 

At R&W Seaforth Balgowlah we recognise that you & your property needs are the reason we are in business.
So we simply wanted to say thank you to all our clients past and present for your support.

 

To our future clients – whether you’re looking to buy or sell, need advice on the decision to renovate or move or need your property leased or managed -  we are always here to help & look forward to being of service for many more decades to come.

 

Our mission has always been to deliver you our ‘five star’ service in every step of your property dealings. We see our role as taking the stress out of one of  your life’s most important transactions and ensuring we look after your best interest at all times.

 

It’s Interesting to look back over the past 15 years with the market trends & movement. Even more so for Glen Wirth who has been selling in Seaforth since 1978. For your review we have done a quick summary of our surrounding suburbs prices. The median price achieved in 1995 when our office opened and then compared it to the median price for the past 12 months.

 

Seaforth                             $400,000                           $1,248,000

Balgowlah                         $335,000                            $1,105,000

Balgowlah Heights        $462,500                            $1,750,000

Clontarf                             $745,000                            $2,500,000

Fairlight                            $343,000                            $1,130,000

North Balgowlah           $277,000                            $975,000

 

A lot has changed and we look forward with interest to reporting and comparing where prices are in another 15 years.

 

We look forward to seeing you at our opens and auction this weekend! Click Here for our inspection times.

 

Best Wishes,

 

The Team at Richardson & Wrench Seaforth Balgowlah.

 

To keep an eye on this week’s reported Seaforth real estate, Clontarf real estate, Balgowlah real estate, Balgowlah Heights real estate and North Balgowlah real estate Click Here*

*Sales are as reported by Australian Property monitors on 20/05/2010

The trend is up…

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With Thirty-Three (33) auctions on the Northern Beaches last weekend, R&W’s Glen Wirth was privileged to be the auctioneer at Four of the Auctions [with 4 sales]. We are seeing that confidence in the market has built upon the momentum that started in November last year is still heading in the same positive direction, certainly a strong turn around from what we were experiencing 9 months ago!

While the Reserve Bank increased rates again on Tuesday this week and with expectations of another rise over the next couple months, interest rates are still below the Reserves’ economic “neutral“ position! Viewing the weekend’s results - buyer confidence seems to be moving with interest rates rather than having its usual inverse relationship. Put simply, although interest rates are going back up to their historical average, the market in our area is likely to keep powering on – with no sign of buyer interest coming off the boil.

Many cashed up buyers on our database would like to see more homes coming to the market, for those considering selling, now is definitely the time to come & have a confidential chat about the market with the team at R&W.

For those who have been out at the opens & attending recent auctions, it doesn’t take long to notice that there are many buyers out there searching for a new home (22 registered bidders for 16 New Street East, Balgowlah) and with a relatively low level of new listings - the demand trend is likely to keep on its current path for the foreseeable future.

The prestige market as we commented on 2 weeks ago is continuing to build momentum, for those looking to upgrade there are still great opportunities to take advantage of the greater market activity at the lower price brackets & comparatively less competition at the top end. 

With today’s topic of the Trend is up…, it is prudent to look at why we are experiencing this trend. This week the 6th Annual Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey: 2010 has been released. A worthwile read for those with a bit of time on their hands!

Looking at the trends from a Global, National and local view the reasons are similar, however at the local level there are some subtle differences.

Over all – supply & demand are very much the key to strong prices being paid for property. Looking at the below diagram we see that in Sydney particularly, the number of new properties being built had been falling substantially over the past few years. With the current Australian immagration policy - demand for housing is continuing to grow substantially faster than the supply.

 

Housing Starts By State '02 - '09

 

In our local area there is only a very limited number of blocks that have come to the market in the past decade & there is a very limited supply that can come to the market in the years to come, so for our area the new builds are replacing existing homes rather than adding to the housing supply.

 

With the lifestyle that the Beach side / Harbour side location of our area offers, we are going to continue to find that out of area buyers are drawn to our gorgeous pocket of Sydney and as such we will continue to see increasing demand without the opportunity of any significant additional supply.

Manly Beach

 It’s not a bad lifestyle with Manly Beach on your door step!

 

Continuing our review of our local suburbs sales statistics

Today we delve into North Balgowlah and see what’s been happening over the past few years.
 

North Balgowlah sales so far in 2010* (House / Townhouse / Semi)

Total number listed                          6

Total number of sales recorded  1

Private Treaty   1 Properties        $980,000 (Total Value)

 

North Balgowlah Sales in 2009* (House / Townhouse / Semi)

Total number listed                          60

Total number of sales recorded   42

Total Value Sold                                $ 38,257,335

Public Auction   12 Properties    $ 8,905,000 (Total Value)

Public Auction Average                 $890,500   

Private Treaty   30 Properties     $29,352,335 (Total Value)

Private Treaty  Average                 $1,012,149 

Median Price                                       $879,000 

Average Price                                     $980,957   

Highest Sale                                         $1,785,500 (R&W)  
 

North Balgowlah Sales in 2008* (House / Townhouse / Semi)

Total number listed                          67

Total number of sales recorded  53

Total Value Sold                                $52,568,750

Public Auction   16 Properties     $16,942,250 (Total Value)

Public Auction Average                 $1,058,890   

Private Treaty   37 Properties     $35,626,500 (Total Value)

Private Treaty  Average                 $962,878  

Median Price                                       $955,000 

Average Price                                     $991,863   

Highest Sale                                         $1,805,000 

  

North Balgowlah Sales in 2007* (House / Townhouse / Semi)

Total number listed                          61

Total number of sales recorded   58

Total Value Sold                                 $57,294,893

Public Auction   17 Properties    $18,406,000 (Total Value)

Public Auction Average                 $1,082,705   

Private Treaty   40 Properties     $38,888,893 (Total Value)

Private Treaty  Average                 $948,509  

Median Price                                       $900,000 

Average Price                                     $987,842   

Highest Sale                                         $1,750,000 (R&W) 

 

We look forward to your posts on the blog with any additional thoughts & comments from our readers.

 

Please feel free to email us if you have any further questions about the market or real estate in general – it would be great to hear from you.

 

Till we meet again, wishing you all the best in your property search!

 

The Team at R&W Seaforth/Balgowlah.

 
See you at the open for inspections www.teamrw.com.au/buy/opentimes-sales/

 
To keep an eye on this week’s reported Seaforth real estate, Clontarf real estate, Balgowlah real estate, Balgowlah Heights real estate and North Balgowlah real estate www.teamrw.com.au/buy/local-market-watch/*

*Sales are as reported by Australian Property monitors on 05/03/2010