Your Local Market Update: Having been a real estate agent in the Batemans Bay region for over 22 years, the question that gets asked to all employees, whether you are an agent, receptionist or property manager is “How is the Market?” As an agent we are trained to tell you that things are “booming” and that there has never been a better time to buy or a better time to sell. The reality is that it depends on which side of the fence you are sitting on. There is no doubt that the price of housing in the whole of the Eurobodalla Shire has increased and with the availability of corelogic and homeprice guide, it is very easy for consumers to find out exactly what is happening with the simple click of a button. However the big question on everyone’s mind is how much? Statistics from Corelogic in a suburb like Long Beach show in the last 12 months they have seen the median price rise from $520,000 to $561,250 which is roughly around an 8% rise in the last twelve months. However the median in July of 2014 was $435,000. That is a 29% increase over the last 4 years. Most estate agents will concur that this figure is across most suburbs throughout the shire, with some fluctuations up or down in certain small suburbs. Now that this is answered, the next question from most people is, what is going to happen in the near future. Hard for me to commit to in writing, but here is some interesting information. About 2 years ago our agency was holding over 200 properties that we were actively marketing for sale. Today we are actively marketing 82. I am not an economist, but my Year 10 economics teacher did mention something about supply and demand and the demand is still there, but the supply has tightened up considerably. If you speak with builders, the cost of building a new home is on the rise too. The third most expensive city in Australia to purchase a property is Canberra and like it or not, we could almost change our postcode to start with a 26, so this may have an influence. So in brief, things do look positive. But this does not take into account the influence that there is a slow down in the capital cities, the changes to the banks and how this will effect borrowing or world markets in general.
So is it a good time to buy or sell? I would love to give you the answer, but that is well above my pay grade, however I do believe that we live in the prettiest place in the whole of Australia and who would not want to own there very own little piece of paradise.
The above article is an unpaid contribution by long time resident and real estate agent Adam Porteous of Raine and Horne Batemans Bay. Adam was approached by the Beagle to offer readers an insight into the local real estate market by way of trends, news and observations. Adam's contribution is NOT paid advertising and his informed opinion and his generosity of time to contributie is appreciated.
