Thursday, March 28, 2013

Top 20 Fastest Selling Suburbs in Perth

As many will be going house hunting this weekend, here are the top 20 suburbs in Perth for fastest selling properties according to Real Estate Investor for the week to 1st March 2013. In the list are various property types and a mixed bag of growth figures which show that a fast selling suburb doesn't necessarily indicate high capital growth. Included in this list was the 21st suburb to show that whilst townhouses were sold off pretty quickly, in the year to March 2013, the price of townhouses in Innaloo dropped 5%.

Suburbs 1yr growth Type
1. Butler  38 days 4.41% House
2. Ellenbrook  45 days 0.00% House
3. Padbury 48 days 9.09% House
4. Subiaco 50 days 8.33% Unit
5. East Perth 53 days 7.86% House
6. Coolbellup 54 days 14.28% House
7. Padbury 54 days 7.89% House
8. Palmyra 54 days 15.55% House
9. Craigie 55 days 10.81% House
10. Maylands 55 days 15.38% House
11. Merriwa 57 days 14.28% House
12. Floreat 58 days 25.78% House
13. Heathridge 58 days 15.06% House
14. Success 58 days 11.11% House
15. High Wycombe 59 days 10.81% House
16. Maylands 59 days 29.41% Townhouse
17. Como 61 days 11.42% Unit
18. East Cannington 61 days 10.52% House
19. Lakelands  61 days 1.44% House
20. Thornlie 61 days 5.88% House
21. Innaloo 62 days -5.18% Townhouse





Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Top 10 Suburbs in Perth in 2012 (looking only at YoY)

2012 was a very quiet year for Perth real estate, but there were some suburbs that did particularly well. When we only look at the median house prices for 2012 compared only to the previous year, the top ten suburbs recorded more than 10% growth. These were the top ten suburbs that increased in value over 2012 compared to 2011.

1 Mount Lawley 19.6%
2 Hammond Park 13.3%
3 Orelia 12.7%
4 Mount Pleasant 12.7%
5 Osborne Park 11.7%
6 Sinagra 11.0%
7 Mundaring 10.9%
8 Helena Valley 10.7%
9 Ardross 10.6%
10 Beeliar 10.6%

Bear in mind that this could be due to many factors such as the number of houses sold in 2012 and the type of houses that exchanged hands. Another factor is how the suburb did in the previous year. For example, Mt Lawley's median house price was $1.035 million in 2010. However, according to REIWA, in 2011 the median house price went down to $852,500 which was a 18% drop. Compared to 2010, last year's house prices in Mt Lawley are still lower than in 2010. So, dear reader, beware of statistics when playing with real estate.

Thursday, March 14, 2013

Perth Rent Up Again $470 pw

REIWA has just released figures that show a $20 increase in rent per week in Perth in the last three months to February which is a 4.4% rise to a median rent of $470 per week. Houses have increased to $480 / week and apartments / villas increased $30 to $450 per week. This is despite the vacancy rates improving by 0.1% to 2.0%.

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Australia First Home Buyers Decline

It seems that the good news about first home buyers may be restricted to Western Australia, as figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show that first home buyers are actually leaving the property market in numbers more akin to the GFC in January 2011. 

The last four months to January has seen consecutive drops in first home buyer loans, amounting to a 11% drop over that period. This is significant as sustained recovery usually depends on an increase in first home buyers according to MacroBusiness economist Leith van Onselen who labeled the ABS figures as atrocious.


Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Return of the First Homebuyer (you've been missed)

Some interesting statistics coming out from the Office of State Revenue, indicating that the First Homebuyers are very much back in the game.

CURRENT WA FIRST HOME BUYER STATS: 

Median purchase price (METRO):
Jan 2012:            $415,000
Jan 2013:            $430,000
Jump in a year:  $15,000

Median purchase price (REGIONS):
Jan 2012:            $315,000
Jan 2013:            $350,000
Jump in a year:  $35,000

FHB Grants paid in Jan 2012: 971
FHB Grants paid in Jan 2013: 1,163
Difference in a year = 192

Housing Affordability Best in 3 Years

"Australian homes are the most affordable in three years, thanks to rising incomes and falling interest rates.
The Real Estate Institute of Australia's Housing Affordability Report shows that housing affordability improved in the December quarter, with the proportion of income required to meet loan repayments decreasing by 1.4 percentage points to 30.4 per cent.
The result is at its lowest level since December 2009.
REIA president Peter Bushby said housing affordability had been improving over the past year and a half as the Reserve Bank of Australia continued to cut the cash rate."
You can read more of this article here.

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Why the RBA left interest rates unchanged


The cash rate remains at 3.00% following the Reserve Bank of Australia's board meeting today. They have published their statement explaining why.
At its meeting today, the Board decided to leave the cash rate unchanged at 3.0 per cent.
Global growth is forecast to be a little below average for a time, but the downside risks appear to have lessened over recent months. The United States is experiencing a moderate expansion and financial strains in Europe are considerably reduced compared with the situation through much of last year. Growth in China has stabilised at a fairly robust pace. Around Asia generally, growth was dampened by the earlier slowing in China and the weakness in Europe, but again there are signs of stabilisation. Commodity prices are little changed recently, at reasonably high levels.
Sentiment in financial markets is much improved compared with the middle of last year. Risk spreads have narrowed and funding conditions for financial institutions are more favourable. Long-term interest rates faced by highly rated sovereigns, including Australia, remain at exceptionally low levels. Borrowing conditions for large corporations are very attractive. Share prices have risen substantially from their low points. However, the task of putting private and public finances on sustainable paths in several major countries is far from complete. Accordingly, as seen most recently in Europe, financial markets remain vulnerable to occasional setbacks.
In Australia, most indicators available for this meeting suggest that growth was close to trend over 2012, led by very large increases in capital spending in the resources sector, while some other sectors experienced weaker conditions. Looking ahead, the peak in resource investment is approaching. As it does, there will be more scope for some other areas of demand to strengthen.
Present indications are that moderate growth in private consumption spending is occurring, though a return to the very strong growth of some years ago is unlikely. The near-term outlook for non-residential building investment, and investment generally outside the resources sector, is relatively subdued, though recent data suggest some prospect of a modest increase during next financial year. Dwelling investment appears to be slowly increasing, with higher dwelling prices and rental yields. Exports of natural resources have been strengthening, though recent bad weather is affecting some shipments at present. Public spending, in contrast, is forecast to be constrained.
Inflation is consistent with the medium-term target, with both headline CPI and underlying measures at around 2¼ per cent on the latest reading. Looking ahead, with the labour market softening somewhat and unemployment edging higher, conditions are working to contain pressure on labour costs, as was confirmed in the most recent data. Moreover, businesses are focusing on lifting efficiency under conditions of moderate demand growth. These trends should help to keep inflation low, even as the effects on prices of the earlier exchange rate appreciation wane. The Bank's assessment remains that inflation will be consistent with the target over the next one to two years.
During 2012, there was a significant easing in monetary policy. Though the full impact of this will still take more time to become apparent, there are signs that the easier conditions are having some of the expected effects. On the other hand, the exchange rate remains higher than might have been expected, given the observed decline in export prices, and the demand for credit is low, as some households and firms continue to seek lower debt levels.
The Board's view is that with inflation likely to be consistent with the target, and with growth likely to be a little below trend over the coming year, an accommodative stance of monetary policy is appropriate. The inflation outlook, as assessed at present, would afford scope to ease policy further, should that be necessary to support demand. At today's meeting, taking into account the flow of recent information and noting that there had been a substantial easing of policy as a result of previous decisions, the Board judged that it was prudent to leave the cash rate unchanged. The Board will continue to assess the outlook and adjust policy as needed to foster sustainable growth in demand and inflation outcomes consistent with the target over time.

Monday, March 4, 2013

Supply shrinking in Perth Housing Market

The number of properties for sale in Perth has continued to shrink, with almost a 40% drop in properties for sale from the same time last year. REIWA last week mentioned that 8,898 properties were listed for sale, compared to 14,090 properties last year. There were over 1,000 properties sold in a week compared to 690 in the corresponding week last year. It seems that the housing market is heating up, with some global property watchers starting to take notice of Perth, a city that was once Australia's best kept secret.

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