Total Auctions 358 Passed In 116 Passed in after Vendor’s Bid 83 Sold Before Auction 49 Sold at Auction 187 Sold after Auction 6 Clearance Rate 68% Total Private Sales 451
The long weekend brought us another quiet weekend in the property market. With only 358 auctions on the weekend, the 68% clearance rate doesn’t mean all that much. But going forward we have now finished with all the long weekends, Easter & school holidays until later in the year, and we can see some good clear periods that Real Estate Agents like so much to market property in. There will be many people feeling the banks interest increases as well as those from the Reserve Bank.
Investors are moving back in to the market place very strongly, with good solid properties on good land located in solid positions, surrounded by infrastructure such as parks, schools, public transport and cafes are selling extremely well. Investors also have other ways to fund investment properties with their super funds.
Over the coming months we will see how much the US led credit crunch will lead our property market. In my opinion it will not be that much. We are still in the worst situation for accessible rental properties that we have seen in recent memory. Unemployment is still very low and most people have made very good equity in their properties over the past 3 years. We should also mention there has been no slow down of people moving into Melbourne. We still have that little problem of one million people expected here 10 years earlier than planned.
When looking at property investment, short term is 5 years, medium term is 10 years and long term is longer than 10 years. With this many people needing accommodation in the best city in the world to live, whatever short term movements in property prices occur, they will be short lived.
Ian James
