Monthly Property Update- June 2017
By | 6th Jun 17

The Melbourne market continues to perform solidly with clearance rates averaging around the 77% to 80% mark on most weekends. The new underquoting laws that were brought in on May 1st haven’t really changed the market dynamics yet, although we have seen that there have been some more opportunities for buyers at auctions in the last month. It will take a bit of time before buyers and the market get used to the new quoting regime as more properties are selling within the advertised price range or just above. This has changed compared to what we have seen over the last few years of this booming market.

The Federal Governments proposed budget has proposed a number of changes that will influence the property market. There won’t be that many affecting investors as they are lucky that there were no changes to negative gearing or any capital gains tax amounts being increased. Home buyers, who own their own principal place of residence, are also happy that there have been no changes to taxing them when they are selling their property. There has however been a change in depreciation laws with only those that have incurred the expenses able to claim the depreciation which will affect some investors cash flow.

There are also some changes within the State Government policies to try to improve affordability, including stamp duty to be abolished for First Home Buyer purchases under $600,000 and a discounted rate if they purchase between $600,000-$750,000. This will hopefully help First Home Buyers get a foot in the market faster. Also, the Federal Government has offered them a Super Saver Bonus account where they can save up to $30,000 in total. This will ensure they can save their deposit in a quicker time frame. 

There has been some talk about a possible market downturn as recent Core Logic data shows that Melbourne prices have dropped slightly over the last two months. This is only one of the factors that has a play on our market and can be because often there are higher priced sales in one month, compared to another and this can influence the median prices. All the other economic indicators are very solid with unemployment and inflation consistent and the RBA not looking to increase the cash rate all being positives. We think most areas in the Melbourne housing market will continue to perform solidly although the apartment market will continue to be quite patchy. We saw this last weekend at three auctions where in Caulfield North, St Kilda East and Elwood there was not one live bid. This was in comparison to house auctions we attended where we saw 4-5 bidders fighting for every property.

Please don’t hesitate to visit our website www.advantageproperty.com.au or contact us regarding our popular Buyer’s Advocate, Vendor Advocacy, Property Management, Owner’s Corporation services and Group Block Purchases, including our future townhouse opportunity in Dandenong (approximately $290,000 with a potential return of around $320 per week with a small renovation).