Autumn housing preview
It’s a great time to get back in the market.
The Reserve Bank of Australia cutting interest rates to historic lows just before the beginning of autumn has put renewed vigour in the property market. The new cash rate has provided a clear bonus for mortgage holders as well as those looking to get into the market.
Building on the market bounce-back we witnessed towards the end of 2019, we are seeing auction clearance rates rapidly regaining their strength, helped along by low stock levels that are increasing competition at closely fought auctions.
We’re now seeing homeowners interested in selling regaining their confidence in the auction market as prices regain their record levels and asking prices gather momentum.
Melbourne’s median auction price for houses increased by 15.7 per cent in February to its highest price on record – that’s $1.02 million – and the market in Melbourne’s north-west is looking strong. Strathmore was the second-highest growth Melbourne suburb in the last quarter of 2019, recording a 22.3 per cent median house price increase, while Essendon came in with the twelfth highest growth at 13.3 per cent over the quarter.
Real Estate Institute of Victoria vice-president Adam Docking told Domain early in March that vendors were becoming more confident to sell at auction than they were during the market downturn in 2018 and the first half of 2019.
He said relatively low stock and high competition from buyers had created near perfect conditions for vendors to get a strong auction result.
As Frank Dowling sales agent Anthony Elliott says, it’s a great time to sell. “The sales market has been performing really well throughout the start of 2020.”
Frank Dowling Real Estate has recorded some great sales over February. A property in Essendon sold for $855,000, which was $55,000 over the vendor’s reserve, while another in Oak Park smashed its reserve price by a staggering $153,000 to sell for $703,000.
“This just proves the market has bounced back since late last year and 2020 is looking very buoyant at the moment,” says Anthony.
It’s a fantastic market ready to be capitalised on.
