We hope you enjoyed the summer holidays and that you’ve survived the back-to-school rush!

Action in our property markets has been slow over the summer break but now that we’re back at work, things are bound to heat up. If purchasing a property was on your new year resolution list and you’ve been dragging your heels, it’s time to talk to your mortgage broker to get the ball rolling. Interest rates remain near historical lows and there are plenty of opportunities out there for savvy property buyers!

Interest Rate News
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) met on February 6 for their first board meeting on monetary policy for the year. As expected, they decided to leave the official cash rate unchanged. However, lenders are continuing to adjust their rates outside of RBA movements, so call your mortgage broker if you’d like to check your rate.

Property Market News
As mentioned earlier, summer is traditionally a slow season in our property markets so we’re not yet seeing a return to pre-Christmas auction numbers. For the week ending Sunday, February 4 Victoria held 340 scheduled auctions, and 73% of properties sold under the hammer. New South Wales had 361 scheduled auctions, achieving a clearance rate of 60%. In South Australia, 75% of the 101 properties to go to auction sold, while in Queensland, there were 303 scheduled auctions and 48% of properties sold. In the ACT, 52 properties went to auction and 64% sold. In the other states, auction activity has been very slow. Western Australia saw just 43 scheduled auctions with a 53% clearance rate, Northern Territory only had 2 auctions and both properties were passed in, and Tasmania had only 5 scheduled auctions with a 67% clearance rate.

Home Values
National home dwelling values were down in December 2017 and home value movements since have been very minor due to the slow summer property market. Experts are expecting a further slowdown in some markets around the country, but for buyers, that could be good news as you may have more room to negotiate on price.

According to CoreLogic there are still plenty of hot spots for buyers to explore, even in the most affected property markets. Cottesloe in Perth, Glebe in Hobart, Girraween in Darwin, Forrest in Canberra, Glenelg South in Adelaide and Woolloomooloo in Sydney – are all examples of locations where local capital growth outstripped the city average by a huge margin in 2017. Yeronga in Brisbane experienced capital growth of a whopping 40.9% for the year – so doing your research carefully will be the key to success when buying property in 2018.

2018 is well underway, so why not start a new chapter in a new home or with an investment property purchase? Remember, your mortgage broker is here to compare the market to find the right home or investment loan for your individual circumstances.

 

Sources:

www.realestate.com.au/
www.corelogic.com.au/
www.thenewdaily.com.au/