Rising home prices? Majority of Aussies still upbeat on buying/selling
Record high house prices in Australia doesn’t seem to deter buyer sentiment, while sellers think 2017 is a good time to sell, says a new survey.
Two in three (62 percent) Aussie home owners believe this year is a good time to buy, while a further 73 percent believe it is a good time to sell, according to the findings of the survey commissioned by free real estate agent search service, LocalAgentFinder.
The survey was conducted from a nationally representative, independent panel of 1001 Australian adults.
LocalAgentFinder allows vendors to compare property sales agents in their local area, in conjunction with Pureprofile, a data and insights company.
LocalAgentFinder CEO Matt McCann said it was interesting to see two-thirds of Australians believe property is a good buy this year, given the double-digit percentage increases, talk of interest rates rises, and possible changes to property investment legislation.
“Many of us are talking about Sydney and Melbourne’s strong property market, but that is not really being seen outside of the Eastern Seaboard. In fact, the value of property in Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth and Hobart were lower in 2016 than they were eight years ago,” he said.
Sydney and Melbourne recorded the highest dwelling value increases from 2015 to 2016, at 15.5 percent and 13.7 percent respectively.
Other cities had lower increases, with Canberra dwellings increasing by 9.3 percent, Brisbane by 3.6 percent and Adelaide by 4.2 percent, while Perth decreased by -4.3 percent.
A majority of home owners surveyed in New South Wales, 81 percent, believe it is a good time to sell, and in Victoria and the Australia Capital Territory, where 82 percent of home owners believe the same.
Elsewhere, confidence was slightly lower: 73 percent of home owners in the Northern Territory, 70 percent in South Australia, 67 percent in Queensland and Tasmania, and 44 percent in Western Australia thought it was a good time to sell.
Home owners in WA and NT most likely to buy property in 2017
Residents in Western Australia are most optimistic about buying, with 85 percent believing 2017 is a good year to purchase property. Northern Territory residents follow at 80 percent, then Tasmanians at 71 percent.
Contrastingly, ACT and NSW residents are on the fence – at 47 percent and 55 percent respectively.
Outside of these areas, 68 percent of South Australians believe this year is a good time to buy, 65 percent of Queenslanders, and 57 percent of Victorians believe this year is a good time to buy.
The findings are consistent with rising house prices across Australia.
Confidence highest among Baby Boomers
Over 60s are the most likely to believe 2017 is a good time to buy (53 percent of all over-60s), while those in their 20s were the least likely to believe 2017 to be a good time to buy (35 percent of all 20-somethings) – unsurprising, given wage-to-property ratios are growing unevenly. The survey also revealed that 53 percent of 60+ believe 2017 is a good time to sell.
“Older Australians typically have more purchasing power than young people, as they are able to rely on the equity of existing assets to purchase. Younger people are struggling to keep up with rising house prices, and they are less likely to be inclined to purchase this year,” McCann said.