KEEP EYE ON TASSIE

TASMANIA’S property market offers the best fundamentals in the country and should be high on an investor’s “to-do’’ list, a property expert says.

Propertyology head of research Simon Pressley said the best course of action when assessing property market investment opportunities during and after COVID-19 was to “try to remove yourself from the emotion of the current climate” and to consider fundamentals such as supply, demand and sentiment.

“There aren’t many major Australian cities like Hobart where it’s still possible to buy a solid house for about $400,000 and the supply pipeline is still tight,” Simon said.

“Investment yields are strong in Tasmania, and the coronavirus does not change the under-supply of dwellings throughout the state.”

With the borders currently closed, should an interstate investor be property hunting in Tasmania they would have to buy “sight unseen’’. Simon said this could present an opportunity for Tasmanians to invest within their state.

“One of the biggest strengths of Tasmanian real estate is its high proportion of owner-occupiers and local buyers,” he said. “It enhances the market’s resilience. Tassie real estate remains a very safe proposition for people.”

Simon said the enforced lockdown of society had essentially placed property markets into something of a temporary holding pattern.

“The reduced human mobility has understandably resulted in low buyer activity, but there’s an equally low volume of properties listed for sale,” he said.

Propertyology anticipates that markets will produce a quick and solid bounceback as the COVID-19 isolation measures progressively relax.

While not a natural disaster per se, events such as the coronavirus are impossible to predict, and Simon said it should not factor too heavily when weighing an investment opportunity.

“Successful property investment has always been about selecting locations based on objective analysis of property market fundamentals, not factors such as Mother Nature,” he said.

“Society will re-open soon enough, and governments and business will get to work on growing the economy.

“We will burst out of our cocoons with an enormous pent-up demand for all sorts of goods and services.”