Your Questions Answered
This will be our last article for 2023 and what a year it’s been in real estate! Property prices have certainly taken a hit, pretty much across the board, but we have still had plenty of success with sales, particularly by auction. It seems that good properties continue to sell well, but if there are any fish hooks, then buyers will be very wary.
Will this continue into next year? Well, the consensus seems to be that the market will continue its slow growth, with increased sales volumes and more motivated sellers coming to the market. Most economists are predicting some mortgage rate relief during the next twelve months which will also bring confidence to the residential market. The biggest change we have seen in the past few months has been a continuing lack of properties coming to the market compared to previous years. This of course may help to keep prices steady - after all, it’s all about supply and demand.
Should buyers be out looking now? We’ve said before it’s a fool’s game trying to pick the bottom of the market but there certainly seems to have been a lift in the market since the elections, with plenty of buyers back in the open homes and bidders at our auctions.
What we have seen in previous property cycles is that once buyers decide that the market has bottomed out, there is a sudden rush of people wanting to secure property before prices start increasing. As soon as this sentiment appears in the market things change fast! And remember, if you are buying to hold, even for just two years, you are almost certain to see an increase in your property’s value. Have a wonderful Christmas break and we look forward to a great real estate year in 2024.