What is the property market REALLY doing?
(OR you can watch my 5 minute video report)
Before we put the gorgeous Central Coast and surrounds under the property microscope, it always pays to take a look at the wider news ‘cycle’; because, ultimately, that has an effect at a local level.
If you listen to BIG media, and their predominant ‘doom and gloom’ they will have you believe that, once again, the sky is about to fall.
Impending punch-ups in the Persian Gulf, US/China trade tiffs, looming recessions, sinking Pacific Islands, the dangers of farting cows and, of course, The Climate ‘Emergency’.
But it’s the underlying ‘good’ news that we don’t hear much about, that keeps things chugging along.
Cheap money (low interest rates), solid employment numbers (95% of those who want to work are!), massive infrastructure spending by Governments, and most importantly, we are only half way through the property ‘up cycle’ (understanding this cycle alone, is one of the most powerful tools a property owner or investor can possess).
So, if we look specifically at the current local property market, it is an encouraging, yet somewhat strange landscape that is presenting.
If I had to describe what the local property market is doing today, I would say, “It’s a sellers’ market, where sellers are reluctant to play.”
In other words, buyers are massing at the border, with confidence and money to spend, and sellers are only allowing a few to cross as they are reluctant to offer their properties to the market.
The numbers and anecdotal evidence paint a very clear picture.
The data I am about to share (in the main courtesy of Price Finder) applies to Ulverstone, West Ulverstone, Penguin, Tuners Beach and Devonport.
In the nine months Jan-Sept 2018*, there were around 460 recorded house sales across the five localities (based on the full 2018 total of 620)
In the period Jan – Aug/Sept 2019*, there have been around 250 recorded house sales across the five.
That is a drop in sales volume of 45%!
BUT…prices have risen around 4% (on average) in the last 12 months, with Penguin leading the charge, up 9.5% and West Ulverstone 5.7%
Here is the full run down on the five main areas…# of house sales Jan to now; median price, change to price-
Ulverstone:
48 recorded sales, median price of $293,500, Up 3%,
West Ulverstone:
37 Recorded sales, median $299,000, Up 5.7%
Penguin:
29 Sales, $312,000, Up 9.5%
Turners Beach:
16 sales, $385,000, Down 1.8%
Devonport:
122 Sales, $272,500, Up 2.8%
With less stock and more buyers, this is a sellers’ market with clear upward pressure on prices. Yet, could it be the case that home owners might not realise their advantage because the negative BIG news ‘cycle’ is influencing their decisions?
What do you think? I’d love to know, as would our fellow community.
Feel free to contact me here
Thanks for reading and I look forward to reporting to you next month.
