Welcome to our November Property Update.

Its great to be out of lockdown now and being able to see friends, family, return to the office and return to sit down dining again. We are now even allowed to travel overseas and interstate again. In real estate, this means that we have moved away from private inspections, and returned to open homes and onsite auctions.

Highlights

• In October, Sydney dwelling values rose by 1.5%, bring it to an increase of 5.2% for the quarter and 25.2% for the year. Sydney dwelling values are currently at a record high. 
• The medium house price in Sydney is now $1.5 million. 
•  The RBA has left the official interest rate on hold at 0.1% and whilst the RBA is maintaining they will not increase the official interest rate until 2024, the market is expecting rates to rise sooner.
• This month we have seen the APRA loan serviceability buffer increase come into effect, raising the buffer from 2.5% – 3%. 
• Stock levels across Australia are still down 20% against last year. 
• We have started to see the auction clearance rate ease from the early October peak, against a surge in auction volumes. 
• Rent values increased 9.2% in October which is the strongest annual appreciation since February 2008. 
• Government bond purchases remain at $4billion per week, which will be reviewed in February 2022. 
• We will see more properties come to market in the coming week with a short auction campaign prior to Christmas.
• We are also seeing more sellers adjust their price expectations downwards slightly.

I feel the market is now entering a transitional phase with more properties coming to market over the past few weeks post lockdown, in addition to many buyers fatigued and putting their search for now.