Property Newsletter

Keith’s Market Update

January results surprised, with both Sydney and Melbourne housing growth rates increasing 0.6% and 0.2% respectively for the month. Early indications are that the Sydney market is starting 2022 with a similar trend to what we saw last year, although there is no doubt the month-on-month increases have slowed substantially.
CoreLogic’s Research Director, Tim Lawless noted “housing stock is thinly traded during January, and it will be important to monitor this trend as transactional activity picks up. As the volume of home sales moves out of seasonal lows, we should get a firming reading on how 2022 is shaping up”.
Locally we have seen transactions at a similar level to last year, some of the sales negotiated in January, included the following:

Address	Description	Price
15/117-119 Pacific Hwy, Hornsby	Conveniently positioned 2 y/o 2 bedroom apartment	$690,000
206/2 Bobbin Head Rd, Pymble	Quality light-filled 2 bed apartment, 1 bath, 1 car space	$860,000
19 Rawson Rd, Berowra	Modern 4 bed home in Sanctuary Gardens Estate	$1,700,000
5/1219 Pacific Hwy, Turramurra	Large ground floor 3 bed apartment, quiet leafy outlook	$1,340,000
2 Amor St, Asquith	Cute, contemporary renovated 2 bedroom cottage	$1,665,000
7/16 Dural Street, Hornsby	With a leafy outlook, 2 bed, 1 bath, 1 lug apartment	$660,000
45A Old Berowra Waters Rd, Hornsby	Versatile 6 bed family home with pool. Walk to station	$2,445,000
70/14 Pound Rd, Hornsby	High yielding dual key, 1 bed plus studio apartment	$745,000
35 Greenview Pde, Berowra	Meticulously maintained 4 bed home with granny flat	$1,506,000
46/107 Pacific Hwy, Hornsby	Oversized 2 bed apartment, 2 baths	$699,000

Sydney wide a softening of growth conditions has been influenced by less government stimulus, worsening affordability, rising fixed-term mortgage rates and, more recently a slight tightening in credit conditions and a surge of new listings through the final quarter of 2021. Houses are still recording a higher growth rate than apartments, and are enjoying shorter days on market, and more competition from buyers. If you are looking for a first home, downsize or investment property, apartments are representing very good value at the moment.
We expect the trend in advertised listings will increase this quarter and run consistently up to Easter. The announcement of the date for the Federal Election will have an impact on buyer sentiment, however, that will be very much overshadowed by stock levels. If inventory levels rise and demand reduces, we should start to see vendors and buyers becoming more balanced in the market, reducing the sense of FOMO that has been a key factor in pushing up prices through the pandemic.

Kind Regards,

Keith Soames
Principal

Property Management Update

As the wet summer continues, it appears not to have dampened the rental market!
January was slow to start, however, the latter part of January saw a lot more interest in rentals across units, townhouses and houses. Our property management leased 32 properties throughout January. This was an outstanding effort considering the public and school holidays.
House rentals continued to rise and we also saw small signs of recovery in the unit market.
We are confident that this trend will continue through February and hopefully throughout the year.