January 2015 - Property Prospects for 2015

By Rich Harvey, Managing Director propertybuyer

My team and I hope that you had an enjoyable Christmas break and that 2015 is a safe and prosperous year's for you and your families. Similar to previous years gone by, I am witnessing the same vigour and enthusiasm from our clients to purchase Australian Real Estate. Is it because of a New Year’s resolution to turbo charge your wealth? Have you finally moved outside of your comfort zone to overcome the procrastination that has held you back for too long? Every individual has their own motivations and reasons to want to purchase property in 2015. What’s yours? This year holds yet again great promise for the Australian property market. My team and I look forward to once again assisting you in securing that ideal property in 2015.

In this edition we look at:

1. Property Prospects for 2015
2. New China Desk for Propertybuyer - Maggie Csanits

1. Property Prospects for 2015

The Australian property market experienced a solid year of growth and was stimulated last year by historically low interest rates, strong consumer confidence, a growing population, foreign investors looking for a safe haven for investment, upgraders prompted by the buoyant market and property investors chasing capital growth.

Sydney in particular was the stand out capital city that enjoyed a spectacular 12.4% pa growth in median house price. In 1993 Sydney’s median house price was just $188,000. In 2002 everyone was surprised the median price reached $350,000. The median house price in Sydney one year ago in January 2014 was $732,000. Fast forward to January 2015 and the current median price is now $825,000 according to RP Data. You snooze, you lose was the mantra from many agents last year. See charts below from RP data on the past growth over the last 12 months and 10 years.

I expect to see a moderating of the growth rate in 2015 to something around the 7% mark. Double digit growth is unsustainable long term and the growth over the last few years has been a lot of catch up growth compressed into shorter time frame. We are seeing plenty of demand from home buyers and investors that were frustrated of not being able to get into the market in 2014. Perhaps 2015 is the year for them while the market takes a breath!

The market in Sydney has developed some significant momentum with auction clearance rate hovering around the 80% mark (this compares with a more normalised market where clearance rates are 50% to 60%).

The Economic climate and potential road blocks

Interest rates are predicted to be very stable this year (ie expect no change) so this is ideal for borrowers to work out holding costs. Our natural population growth and immigration intake will continue to see the population grow and the majority of this increase will be seeking to live in capital cities.

Gradually rising unemployment and low income growth are causing fragility in the economy and will impact consumer confidence this year. Low interest rates have fuelled a substantial rise in investors seeking loans and buying investment properties.

The main challenges for the economy is transitioning away from dependence on mining to other sectors and investing in infrastructure so that the economy can be made more productive. The falling value of the Australian dollar is making our exports more competitive and also creating a win for expats and foreign investors looking to purchase property in Australia. It’s come down from around $0.95 USD last year to around $0.80 today (so this represents a 15% discount factor on the currency front).

• The areas of concern for our property market in 2015 include:Lower income growth reducing affordability and demand for housing,
• APRA introducing macro-prudential controls on lending amounts which could limit investor finance,
• Restrictions on rules for borrowing for property investment in Self-Managed Super Funds, and
• Media speculation on property bubbles bursting and the fear factor that is perpetuated from this scenario.

Where are the opportunities in 2015?

On to the good news prospects; we believe 2015 will bring some excellent opportunities for both investors and home buyers seeking to get into the market. Some of the key opportunities we see for 2015 include:

• Brisbane is one of the cities earmarked for strong growth in 2015. The conditions are ripe for solid growth.
• Sydney is set to remain a strong performer this year with housing under-supply the key driver for price growth
• . Apartment living is continuing to become a more mainstream and accepted way of living. Apartments in ideal locations close to shops, transport and schools will continue to be highly sort after by both investors and owner occupiers this year and make ideal investments.
• Value-adding opportunities – we highly recommend our clients seek to purchase a property where they can add capital value via renovation, subdivision, granny flats, duplex, change of use (rezoning), or small scale development. Each strategy carries a degree of risk and it’s important to speak with us before launching into a specific plan.
• The upper end of market (prestige property) is yet to really fire up. While there have been a several significant sales, there are patchy results in the $5m to $50m market. We anticipate greater demand for beachfront, harbour front and luxury properties in 2015. Sydney is ranked as one of the top cities in the world for lifestyle and amenity.
• Knock-down rebuild – We are seeing in some middle ring suburbs a growing trend for owners to stay in their own neighbourhood and knock down their original home that is falling apart and rebuild from scratch. In many cases it is often cheaper to rebuild new than renovate.

Whatever your plans for 2015, we would like to assist you with your prospect goals.  If you are in the market to buy a new home or investment property we would love to help you.  Call my friendly team of buyers' agents on 1300 655 615 or + 61 2 9975 3311 today to discuss your requirements or email us your buyers wishlist.

Rich Harvey is founder and Managing Director of www.propertybuyer.com.au, Australia's most awarded Buyers' Advocates. Propertybuyer helps property investors and home buyers search and negotiate the right property at the right price, every time. Visit www.propertybuyer.com.au or call 1300 655 615.

2. New China Desk for Propertybuyer - Maggie Csanits, Buyer's Advocate - Chinese Specialists

We are pleased to introduce Maggie Csanits our new Chinese Speaking Buyers Agent Specialist with propertybuyer.

Maggie is a certified real estate sales agent with 10 years of international market experience. She speaks fluent English, Mandarin and understands Cantonese. Maggie’s commitment to excellent customer satisfaction and level of service quality earned her a reputation for outstanding results. She has a fine and unique sense for clients’ needs and a talent to find the perfect property for any customer and budget.

She is ambitious, dedicated and has superb negotiation skills which she refined in her previous position in Shanghai / China, where she was working exclusively with clients from the Chinese government, management of Fortune 500 companies and equal successful business leaders.

Maggie is a professional in her field of work and a great asset to the Propertybuyer team as a Chinese and International investment specialist.

Maggie has an engaging personality, loves life and would be a delight to have on your side.

Please contact Maggie on 02 9975 3311 or email maggie@propertybuyer.com.au to discuss your needs today.

If you are interested in any of the above please contact Jason Low (Manager- Client Relations & Strategy) 1300 655 615 or 02 9975 3311 or email your enquiry to info@propertybuyer.com.au

To review the full details of these opportunities you will need to sign a simple confidentiality agreement which protects our interests in the property. If you purchase a property, a fixed sourcing fee will apply.
We look forward to assisting you.