Real Estate: The Current State Of Play

The real estate market has been in fine fettle in Australia over the past few years. And let’s be honest - a property would pretty much sell itself with no problem whatsoever in almost every area of the country. But this kind of sales heaven is almost always unsustainable, and there have been a few changes in the Australian property market over the last quarter of the month. In this article, we’re going to take a look at what that means for the average buyer, seller, or homeowner.

Prices Peaked

It seems like the average value of housing in the country has fallen considerably - around 7 percent - since the peaks of September of 2017. And even though the market in Sydney has been particularly boisterous during last year, it’s also taken a big hit of late - CoreLogic put it at a 0.9 percent drop. Melbourne, Darwin, Perth, and Adelaide are all dropping, too, although with far less severity.

A Growing Sense of Inequality

According to recent reports, there is a real inequality occurring in large parts of Australia - so much so that Greens senator Lee Rhiannon is actually commissioning a new analysis by the parliamentary library. The report suggests that a few high earners are making huge profits from the market, while the vast majority of citizens are suffering from mortgage stress. Why? Well, the elites in the country are focusing on putting property as their only source of wealth, and the simple fact is that the state governments aren’t reinvesting stamp duty payments into social housing. And whereas working class folks are feeling a big strain, the middle classes are getting a little burnt, too.

Deposits Still Low

However, it’s probably not the time to stay off the ladder, and if you have the opportunity to buy a home, it’s still a relatively safe environment. According to Vystal.com.au, while most deposits require 20 percent of a home’s value, there are still plenty of better deals available - you can still get super low, 5 percent deposits without too much trouble. That said, anyone going for one of these needs to be wary of interest rates - they are stable at the moment, but some economists believe it won’t last for long.

Auctions On The Up

Despite property prices falling a little, auction sales are going up. According to afr.com, the clearance rate went up to over 70 percent in Sydney and looks to be continuing past the usual post-Christmas lull for the foreseeable future.

Average prices

Now, let’s take a quick look at some of the average prices of homes in the major cities of the country. In Sydney, the median price of a house is $835,000, whereas a unit dwelling is around $685,000. Melbourne prices come in at $691,500 for a house and $511,850 for units. And finally, over in Brisbane, the average price of a house is $532,000, and for a unit dwelling, you can expect to pay around $390,000.

Buying and selling real estate is always something of a risk. But as you can see, despite the recent drop in house value, the market is still in good shape. Be wary, do your research, and you should avoid any issues with further drops in the house prices.