As April 2016 draws to a close we can take a moment to ruminate on how the Melbourne and Sydney markets faired over what is usually a transition month as the seasons move toward the wetter and colder months, especially in Melbourne!
The final weekend of the month saw more properties going to auction than the same period last year but Melbourne recorded a slightly lower clearance rate than the year before. This result is actually very positive given the fact Melbourne came off the back of a very high turnover in March. Usually activity is slightly more subdued after a big month so the Melbourne market seems to be holding up quite well. Buyers were back out after the public holidays and you could see that competition remains fierce with often several parties vying for the chance to win a property at auction. Demand seems to be holding, especially in the owner occupied segment of the market. Generally, prices have continued to rise across Melbourne but not quite at the rate we saw last year, during which time growth was exceptional.
By comparison, Sydney seems to be slowing after a period of very high growth during the last couple of years. The rate at which growth was being achieved certainly outstripped Melbourne, as is often the case when Sydney is riding a wave of price increases. I find though, the Sydney market does come off the boil more suddenly than Melbourne which tends to simmer for longer, rarely bubbling over.
Until next time!
Marc has been a professional lender for 28 years. After beginning his career in 1990 with a UK Building Society, he moved to Australia where he held several different retail banking roles. In 1999 it became clear to him that a mortgage broker would eventually become an obvious choice for someone looking for a home loan so he took the plunge and became an independent broker. He hasn’t looked back since!