Current State of the Market Getting straight to the point, our market seems to be stabilising. There are not as many buyers attending open houses and enquiry rates have dropped, but we are still selling property (we sold four from four properties that went to auction a week ago ranging form $375,000 to $1,355,000) and those that are wanting to sell are achieving their objectives. One thing I will address is all the doom and gloom of real estate talk in the capital cities, as this can muddy things locally. Sydney & Melbourne & our cousins up in Canberra have enjoyed (that is if you owned property) a rising markets over the last 5 years or so. Record prices above reserves, people making huge sums of money flipping property and becoming rich in a matter of months. So once figures come back that my home has not increased in value in the last 3 months, then it is time to start to panic. Well I think not. Like any market, the only real time that you are concerned with value of your home is when you are going to sell it. Most people sell their primary residences every 7 to 10 years, so unless you have your home on the market right now, then you really don't have too much to worry about either. If this is the case and you sell now, well if you are buying in this market, well I think you will be better off, as property prices start to cool, you may be in the position to pay less for your next home, if you are moving to a market place that is in a similar state. If it is an investment property and the price you have been given is not suitable, then leave the tenant in the property and rent it out till the next upswing in the market occurs.As mentioned at the start of his column, our market is stabilising, but I still believe that there is quite a bit of upside in our local market place over the coming 3 to 5 years. With infrastructure work being carried out in our area, the announcement of a possible new hospital being built in our shire and the continued shift in demographics of our baby boomers we will see population growth and hence more demand for housing. And who could argue with me that our whole shire is one of the most beautiful places in Australia to live in.
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 contribute is appreciated
