Pendulum swings to buyers
HOME buyers may finally be wrestling back some control of the market, as sellers start to drop their asking prices in Gold Coast suburbs for the first time since the pandemic boom.
Proptrack data showed homes in Mermaid Beach, Surfers Paradise and Broadbeach Waters were selling for up to 5 per cent less than the original listed price.
The data analysed vendor discounting since last year and found sellers in Bundall, Miami and Paradise Point also accepted lower offers. For units, the biggest discounts were in Paradise Point, Mermaid Waters and Main Beach.
Proptrack director of economic research Cameron Kusher said vendor discounting would continue alongside slower price growth.
Buyers could expect greater negotiating power in areas where house prices had spiked most in the past two years.
“In areas such as Mermaid Beach and Surfers Paradise, we’re seeing some big discounts, which speaks to the fact that the movement to coastal markets is not going to be quite as strong,” Mr Kusher said.
With the drive to escape lockdown for lifestyle destinations gone, most people who planned to move to the Coast have done so already, he said.
“The impetus was there in 2020-21, and prices were a lot cheaper then, too. It’s not that much more affordable anymore.”
REIQ Gold Coast zone chair Andrew Henderson said a lack of supply in the beachside belt meant properties were still being snapped-up fast, provided vendors were realistic.
“We’re just not seeing those deals done on the first day as often as what we saw 18 months ago,” he said.
“(Sellers) do need to meet the market. Gone are the days of each sale setting a new record, one after the other. The market has definitely seen a levelling.”
Days on market could be expected to increase as buyers no longer feel pressure to act fast or miss out.
“The negotiation is taking longer and potentially buyers are coming back for that second look, bringing their friends and relatives or their builder.
“If they had done that 12 months ago, they’d probably have missed out. Every market has a cycle and today’s buyers have a little more time on their hands, but not a whole lot, because stock levels are really low.”
Buyers agent Oliver Dunstan, of Rose and Jones, said the changed political and economic climate had swung the market in buyers’ favour.
“While certain pockets of the Gold Coast, and the country, are experiencing a genuine retraction in values, a lot of vendors are listing with expectations that are out of line with current market sentiment and buyer appetite,” Mr Dunstan said.
“Some properties may appear to be discounted when they eventually trade, they are often selling at the price they should have been marketed at in the first place. So an advertised price drop may simply be the vendors and agents coming back to reality with their pricing.”
Mr Dunstan said Queensland was well-placed to ride out a market correction and progress to continued growth.
“The interstate and international migration to the Gold Coast ..., coupled with the infrastructure projects in place to support this population growth as well as the upcoming Olympic Games, will keep these markets well protected from the issues brought on by rising interest rates, global politics and inflation,” he said.