- Home inspections have consistently trended above 2021 numbers
- Australians are becoming more discerning in their buying behaviours
- Major changes in Melbourne and Sydney may have impacts on the market
PropTech Group (ASX: PTG) recently released data on property inspections across Australia. The results showed property hunters were frantically finding freshly freed up stock as buyer’s funds failed to finance prohibitively pricey properties.
What?
The number of buyers attending home opens has soared, and overall, has been trending higher than last year. One of the drivers for this includes buyers unable to find a home they want at an affordable price.
This data comes from inspections that were tracked by real estate agents through PTG’s subsidiary, Eagle Software. Over 245,000 individual property inspections form the data set, with the inspection data indexed and the week of 19 October 2020 equal to 100.
Behind the scenes
PTG CEO Joe Hanna said the desperation seen across much of 2021 has been replaced with discernment:
“Price growth has slowed from its 2021 peak, and auction clearance rates are down. But buyers are active, stock is limited, and most people still have to visit many open homes before finding what they’re looking for. Buyers are no longer desperate like they were during much of 2021. That translates into attending more inspections until they find what they want.”
Mr Hanna also noted that: “During election week, the number of buyers who attended an open for inspection didn’t decrease. It actually increased by 10% over the prior week to a five-week high. This election hasn’t had the same impact on activity as past elections did.”
Melbourne property predicitions
Yesterday, The Property Tribune published predictions for Melbourne, with the consensus between experts that the market is slowing and buyers are now back in the driver’s seat.
In that article, Nicola Powell from Domain also observed buyers becoming much more selective when searching for properties: “Buyers [have] become more mindful of what they’re purchasing. They don’t want to compromise, particularly not on space,” said Dr Powell.
It is also possible Melbourne reached the peak of its cycle, Kate Hill noted in yesterday’s article that, dwelling values reached a cyclical peak of 22.4% in the 12 months to January 2022.
So are buyers out and about? On the whole, that seems to be the case.
Sydney’s ups and downs
Yesterday, the New South Wales government confirmed first home buyers will be able to choose between paying upfront stamp duty on a property as is currently the case or opt for an annual property tax.
Called the First Home Buyer Choice, the reform falls under a multi-billion dollar housing package announced in the 2022-23 NSW Budget that is seeking to deliver more affordable housing across the state.
Of course, the impact of that is yet to be seen on home inspections, but so far this year, New South Wales has, overall, trended higher than last year.
