Welcome to our May Property Update
Highlights:
- Currently there is plenty of talk of the debt cliff and people in mortgage prison, yet at the same time we are seeing huge numbers at many open homes and auctions in particular areas, with often over a dozen registered bidders becoming a weekly occurrence in many areas at every auction – particularly freestanding homes.
- The National house price increased by 0.5% in April and Sydney rose by 1.3% in April, with dwelling prices up every month since February.
- The four largest capital cities have all seen a rise across the rolling quarter.
- The Federal budget was announced this month; however little was mentioned to address the housing shortage.
- The new NSW Government is ceasing to offer first homebuyers the ability to choose between upfront stamp duty or annual land tax up to $1.5M purchases from 1st July. They are also trying to increase legislation to stop rent bidding.
- Victoria delivered their budget this week and are introducing a $500 levy on each investment property, among other things, in an attempt to fix their Covid debt
- Unemployment remains very low at around 3.5%
- The increase in overseas migrants and international students in association with a significant shortfall in rental listings has led to the strongest annual rental increase on record for Australia’s capitals.
- It recorded an increase of 0.8% in April, which is up 2.8% over the past 3 months and 10.1% higher for the year.
- Sydney’s unit rents increased 5.8% for the rolling quarter and 19.1% for the year to April.
- Vacancy rates currently remain near record lows, with total supply in capital cities 20.9% below this time last year and 39.8% below the five year average.
I do not see much relief for renters in the short, medium and long term, given the inflow of migrants, low supply and below required new building approvals.
We are still seeing some good opportunities to acquire investment properties so please get in touch should you require assistance when selecting and purchasing at one of these assets.
