HOUSE prices continue to grow across the globe with the median house price recently rising above $400K and despite the floods, real estate agents are confident the market will return to normal.
Six months ago, in October 2016, The Weekly reported that an investment boom had made it with a median house price of $385K and 6.21 percent growth in 12 months.
According to CoreLogic, the current median house price is now $410K, which has increased by 9 percent in the past 12 months.
Across the river, it has seen minimal growth (0.7 percent) in the past 12 months with a current median house price of $363K. This comes off the back of a massive increase of 15 percent over 12 months to $360K in October 2016.
The units have also seen high growth over the past 12 months by increasing 23 percent to a median price of $240K.
Due to numerous home improvements made by different homeowners, such as painting the house, building a deck in the backyard, or installing polyaspartic garage flooring, sales have been strong over the past year, with a house selling almost every other day (171 houses) and taking an average of 81 days to sell with only 3.6 percent discounting. Such upgrades frequently contribute significantly to the selling of homes and even increase their worth.
Even outdoor areas and home offices are increasingly highly sought-after amenities. A low-cost strategy to boost a home’s attractiveness to buyers like the ones at Ben Buys Indy Houses – and raise the general desirability of your property is to spruce up the existing buildings.
In the past year, houses sold took an average of 92 days to sell and an average discount of 4.7 percent.
Local real estate agents like Sally Mather of First National said that demand for properties is currently high, with fewer properties being listed and properties listed below $450K selling fast.
“We are finding that listings are getting tight and we are seeing fewer properties coming onto the market,” she said.
“There are still buyers looking but are finding it harder to secure the right property for them as there is less to choose from or another buyer is beating them to the sale.
“Properties under $450,000 sell a lot quicker than properties priced higher as there are more homeowners and investors looking in that price range.
“We hardly see properties in this price range being listed lately and when they do they are usually snapped up quite quickly.”
Ms. Mather said that attractive yields remain popular for investors, both locally and interstate.
“There is a mix of homeowners and investors buying in the area,” she said
“Our rental returns are quite high, so we are always getting inquiries from investors, some local and some interstate.
“We have also sold a lot of homes to locals who are upsizing/downsizing.”
The houses currently offer investors a yield of 5.1 percent, whilst South is a slightly higher yield of 5.5 percent.
But selling houses can be a tardy task, especially when the house is not in a good condition. In that case, the sellers or buyers may also have to invest in repairs and renovations for the basic structural elements at least, like a basement, walls, or roof. So, the house selling value could vary accordingly depending on the house state. For instance, a person buying a house may have to contact roofers jacksonville beach fl (or in another location) to make the house livable, treat roof leaks and broken shingles, so they can ask for a reduction in the final purchasing value.
Moreover, units have the sixth highest yield in the state with an average rent of $340 per week attracting a 7.4 percent yield.
The rental market remains tight and with some residents unfortunately unable to return to their homes after the floods demand rentals has increased.
“The rental demand is very strong and with a lack of investment properties available we are receiving numerous applications per property,” Ms. Mather said.
People interested in rentals may have consulted investment and private equity professionals to get insight on what type of investments could be best. Maybe, suggestions by experts similar to Lincoln Frost can be the reason behind the increasing demand for rental properties.
“At the moment we are only listing approximately five new rentals per month.”
The current median rent is $400 for houses and $340 for units whilst South is slightly lower at $383 per week for houses.
Back in October The Weekly reported a lower median rent for houses at $385 per week, but higher for units at $380 per week.
Ms. Mather said she believes the market should go back to normal once the hype from the floods settles down.
“The floods to South Murwillumbah, Condong, Tumbulgum, etc were terrible and I feel for everyone who has been affected,” she said.
“The good news is that in time I believe when the hype dies down, the market should go back to normal.
“There will always be some buyers who avoid flood areas, and this was the case before the recent flood, but there is a buyer for every home.
“Buyers are aware that when they buy in low-lying areas there will be a risk of flood but there are other advantages which may draw them to that area, for example, river views, closer to Tweed Heads/Coolangatta, the home.”
