Hi ,
We are very excited to announce that Elite Buyer Agents has expanded to the Gold Coast being managed by Senior Buyer’s Agent, Jenni Wright. Jenni, a highly experienced Buyer’s Advocate, has been in real estate for over 27 years and loves to navigate the “in demand” Gold Coast property market with complex negotiations and low stock levels. We are thrilled to be able to expand our services further across the country and welcome her back to the Elite team.
Melbourne Property Market Update
The clearance rate dropped slightly over the weekend with 706 auctions reported to the REIV. 394 properties sold at auction, 133 sold before auction and 179 passed in. There were an additional 276 private sales. We are experiencing steady clearance rates in the 70%’s week in, week out, but this week, the amount of sold properties increased both by auction and private sale. In comparison, for the same weekend last year, 649 properties went to auction resulting in a clearance rate of 69%.
The Spring season is predicted to be a busy one. This Saturday is a super Saturday with more than 1,000 auctions scheduled and more than 3,000 homes scheduled to go to auction over the next 3 weeks. REIV figures are suggesting that the record for the amount of auctions in the first week of September, which was set in 2015, of 932 auctions will be broken.
The higher stock levels are due to some vendors now having confidence that the property market is stable (even with all of the interest rate rises) so have decided now is the time to put their property on the market. In addition to this, there will be a short term spike in rental properties coming onto the market with some landlords making the exit from investing in property. Some owner occupiers will be offloading their properties due to the unaffordability of increased mortgage repayments. And naturally vendors feel Spring is the best time to sell due to improved weather and their properties/gardens generally looking better this time of year.
Now could be as good time as ever to purchase a property as the spike in listings will likely be short term. The property market is expected to stay balanced as buyers are also building confidence that interest rates are near the peak and it is expected that the rental market could become extremely tight and rents ‘should’ be on the rise as well.
The villa unit market is a strong segment of the market due to buyers having decreased budgets as a result of rising interest rates. Villa units can still offer good accommodation, a backyard (but are on a subdivided block) at a more affordable price point of $1m (give or take a little).
6/39 Brownfield Street, Mordialloc is a three bedroom, one bathroom, double garage modern unit which was quoted at $850,000 to $935,000 prior to auction. The bidding opened strongly at $980,000 which knocked out most of the buyers there to bid. The bid however was challenged by 2 other parties but the originally bidder successfully purchased the property for $1,010,000.
4/12 Florence Street, Surrey Hills was another villa unit that performed well at auction on the weekend. The updated two bedroom, one bathroom, double garage villa unit was quoted at $800,000 to $880,000 prior to auction. An offer of $960,000 was acceptable to the vendor prior to auction so the auction was brought forward. There were four bidders who challenged the offer with three of the bidders over $1,100,000. The property sold for $1,170,000.
The higher end of the market is still actively transacting but facing the challenges of limited stock. The most expensive sale reported in Melbourne last week was a three bedroom, four bathroom apartment in Toorak which sold for almost $8,500,000.
Have a great week!
Kim Easterbrook
Gold Coast Property Market Update
Hi ,
I am very excited to bring Elite Buyer Agents to the Gold Coast and help both both owner occupiers and investors in purchasing property in what is a very different property market to Victoria.
Selling agents generally do not quote property prices on property which means for buyers, it can be very easy to overpay when negotiating a property purchase. That is why it is important to have representation from a Buyer’s Agent who understands the value of property and has local market knowledge.
There is strong demand for property on the Gold Coast which is largely driven by migration both internally (from other states around the country) and externally (from overseas). It is predicted that the population is to double over the next 20 years to over 1,000,000 people.
Many people are moving to the Gold Coast for the warmer weather and more relaxed lifestyle. The quality and ease of accessing medical care is also a deciding factor, as is the emergence of many fine dining restaurants, theme parks and the work from home experience.
In some areas of the Gold Coast, it is still possible to purchase a house for under $1,000,000 which makes it much more affordable than areas of Melbourne and Sydney. Waterfront properties are also of strong interest and are possible to purchase sub $2,000,000. The apartment market in Surfers Paradise and Broadbeach are popular for Investors, empty nesters and young couples. Due to the lack of available rental properties, rental yields on the Gold Coast are generally higher than what capital cities such as Melbourne and Sydney achieve. All markets are underpinned by the lack of stock, especially anything with a water view which is the Gold Coast is famous for.
Have a wonderful day.
Jenni Wright – Senior Buyer’s Agent
