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Increased rate of open for inspection across Australia
May 4, 2023
Increased rate of open for inspection across Australia Sydney
By   Fiona Killman, Real Estate Reporter
  • City News
  • Home Inspection
  • Interest Rates
  • Property
Abstract: With the "last wave of rate increases", buyers are coming out of the woodwork across Australia.

As buyer confidence rises and competition intensifies, agents are seeing a massive increase in people attending home inspections.

 

National real estate agency Upside Realty has seen a 78 per cent jump in the number of people attending home inspections across the country in the past two weeks compared to the annual average.

 

Despite the Reserve Bank raising interest rates to 3.85 per cent on Tuesday, the hint is that they will not ease.

 

Victoria has seen a 123 per cent surge in inspections, followed by Queensland at 117 per cent, while NSW has seen a 38 per cent rise in inspections.

 

"We've seen the highest attendance in a year, which indicates strong buyer demand," said James Kirkland, sales director at Upside Realty.

 

"On a recent Saturday, we saw buyer levels stay very strong.

 

"Some of our agents even saw 30 or more at inspections."

 

Garry Smith recently sold his late mother's house in Sydney's southern suburbs of Bexley through Upside Realty, where there was fierce bidding at the auction.

 Increased rate of open for inspection across Australia

It's going well and we've just got $100,000 over the reserve price," he said.

 

Mr Smith said he was surprised by the number of buyers.

 

"It did surprise me a little bit, but even before the house sold, we had 59 couples come through in four weeks," he said.

 

Mr Kirkland said the auction clearance rate also reflected buyer confidence, with the April 22 figures at 70.8 per cent in Sydney, 71.6 per cent in Melbourne and 53.2 per cent in Brisbane.

 

"We're seeing a return to a hot market and competition at auctions again," he said.

 

"Nationally, auction clearance rates are at their highest level since before the rate hike began in mid-March 2022."

 

He said there was a growing perception among buyers and sellers that the "last wave of rate hikes" was nearing its end.

 

Mr Kirkland said Tuesday's decision to raise the cash rate to an 11-year high would not slow confidence across the market.

 

"I don't think it's going to slow down," he said ...... The feeling is we're almost at the end of the road.

 Increased rate of open for inspection across Australia

"From a buyer's perspective, they know how much they have to pay and how much they can borrow.

 

"From a supplier's point of view, knowing there are buyers coming back into the market ...... They know now is a good time.

 

"It's pretty obvious from the amount of attendees that are open for inspection and the amount of appraisals our agents are doing."

 

He said Upside Realty's message to sellers is to take advantage of the window before the end of the financial year.

 

"The same goes for buyers, our message is 'don't wait'," he says.

 

"If it ticks all the boxes and it's within your budget, don't hesitate.

 

"It's an interesting time and will probably level off as more stock comes onto the market.

 

"We believe there will be a wave of new listings coming onto the market in the next few weeks, which will open up more opportunities for buyers."

 

However, the latest figures released by SQM Research show that the number of residential property listings nationwide fell by nine per cent in April, to 227,020 units from 249,404 units in March.

 

Total listings fell in all cities in April, with Sydney down 12.9 per cent, Melbourne down 12.4 per cent, Brisbane down 11 per cent and Adelaide down 10.2 per cent.

 

Rich Harvey, chief executive and founder of Property Buyer, said the main factors driving the market were a lack of inventory and a significant increase in migration and population growth.

 

Since February there appears to be a new enthusiasm among buyers looking for property.

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