April Property Update 2023
Welcome to our April property update – the first for 2023
On the 9th March we were in Perth for the Real Estate Institute of Australia (REIA) Excellence Awards. I’m excited to announce that Claudia won the Achievement award. It’s a great honour for her to achieve this National Award.
We have also been nominated as Finalists in the Real Estate Business (REB) awards, with myself in the Buyers Agent of the Year and Claudia in the Young Gun category. Additionally, we are also finalists later this month in the Small Business Champions Awards.
The first quarter of 2023 has been interesting in the property space, in addition to a change of government here in NSW, and with that proposed changes that will affect the property market.
This week, after 10 consecutive increases, the Reserve Bank has left the cash rate on hold at 3.6%. There is debate about whether we will see further increases, however I expect to see interest rates decrease later this year and across 2024.
Annual inflation has fallen to 6.8%, from a peak of 8.4% in December which is welcoming.
We are seeing house prices starting to rise again, with the Home Value Index (HVI) posting the first month-on-month rise since April 2022, up 0.6% in March and with Sydney experiencing a 1.4% gain in March.
Properties for sale remains tight with advertised supply almost 20% below the previous 5 year average
Auction clearance rates are now also on the rise and back to average or above average levels, so hopefully we will see more properties coming to market from those people that have been holding off.
Vacancy rates still remain incredibly tight and I expect that to continue
Rents are still on the rise, with houses up 9.4% and apartments up 18.1% on this time last year.
We are seeing some good buying opportunities with properties that require some cosmetic renovations, so if you are looking for an investment property, please get in touch.
I hope you and your families have a wonderful Easter break.
