As the market moves and speculation and rumours abound it has never been more important to maintain a sense of perspective says Gerard Fitzgibbon at Maison Advisory.
Right now there is a feeling in the Sydney real estate market that is similar to the one you experience when you turn off a freeway into a school zone. One minute you are flying and the next it feels like you are crawling along. The important thing to remember is that you are still moving forward.
The enormous increase in house prices that saw them jump by 23 per cent last year has definitely slowed. But houses are generally selling for five per cent more than the guide price the agent gives at the front door.
Keeping a sense of perspective in this market is important. We know the Reserve Bank has indicated that interest rates will start to rise from June. What we need to remember is that the last time interest rates rose, home values increased.
It is also good to keep in mind that if you are a first-time buyer or a seller looking to move to another home that better suits your needs, in the Autumn you will be paying a higher mortgage rate on your property. And that mounts up over time.
Most experts are predicting that the number of homes offered will increase towards the end of the year. The number of newly listed homes has already increased for the last two months.
What that means is that if you are a seller, listing now and getting in ahead of the competition is a good idea. And if you are a buyer there may be even more to choose from in the Autumn.
But returning to that sense of perspective, the trend of increased supply has not followed through strongly on Sydney’s lower north shore. And in the Autumn returning investors and expatriates from overseas will increase the competition.
So we can expect a slight improvement in the number of houses to choose from in the Autumn when interest rates will have gone up and so will house prices – just not at the tearaway rate we experienced last year.
And that means that if it suits your family to sell, then now is a good time to do it, and if you are looking to buy and find the right home then now is the time to act.
