Market Report
Property Market Report: September 2024
5 September 2024
by Dee Pajevikj
Most people watching the news would wait for Allan Kohler or Ross Greenwood to tell them where the markets are heading. But sometimes it’s Jane Bunn and Livinia Nixon who let you know what’s going on in real estate in our part of the world. Sometimes it’s meteorology that sets things ticking. And lately the meteorologists have been reporting the remarkable early onset of spring. Yes, the warm weather has arrived ahead of time, and it has enticed people out of their homes and their mid-year ennui and got them out and about looking at property. Spring is always a market awakening, but this year, with the deep winter being so rapidly and completely annulled, it’s more pronounced than ever. The hustle is back, the bustle has returned… people are out looking for property. Spring is not only in the air, it’s in the market’s psyche. Suddenly, the future seems like a good investment again.
With interest rates on hold, and an expectation that the next shift can only be down, confidence is returning to the market. People are recognizing this as a good time to purchase, or to upgrade their current properties.
Lately at Abercrombys we have been observing buyers particularly keen to get into the top end of the market. This demand, combined with a shortage of good top-end properties has led to us achieving brilliant results selling a number of properties off-market. Feel free to ask our friendly sales team how this is done.
The stability in prices in the Melbourne market as compared to other capitals has recently led to first home buyers being particularly active. For the same reason immigrants are choosing Melbourne over other Australian capital cities and this will keep demand strong in the first-home-buyer sector of the market.
Moving into spring the rental market will remain tight and we will continue to experience healthy demand for homes that are presented and maintained well. We can’t stress the importance of maintenance and presentation enough. A slick renovation is also a virtue that will be rewarded. You’ve got to spend a buck to make a buck, as the Americans say. Maintenance isn’t a cost – it’s an investment. Money spent on a rental property will generally (if you don’t go overboard with onyx benchtops and crystal chandeliers) return to you twofold. Tenants are now, more than ever before, willing to pay premium prices for modern features and state-of-the-art conveniences. So don’t be afraid to ask our experienced property management team about strategies to maximize yield on your rental property.
Rental prices have been climbing like a sherpa on steroids due to high demand and limited supply. Taking in our historically high immigration rates and Australia’s snail-pace construction response, all forecasts agree that rents won’t be plateauing any time soon. That said, setting the right rental price is still important, and no one knows how to do that with more accuracy and acumen than our property management team. Even in this golden age of landlordism you can render your rental property vacant for painful stretches if you don’t set the price right. Additionally, if you set the right price, you get the right renter – a long-term, responsible citizen. Not all lessees are created equal, every agent will be able to tell you many hair-raising stories on that front.