- National property market conditions shift in favour of buyers in March 2014.
- Queensland, Northern Territory and Tasmania remain top markets for buyers.
- Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra offer best opportunities for sellers.
- Central Highlands in Victoria becomes top seller’s market in the country.
The latest Commonwealth Bank/RP Data Home Buyers Index (HBI) brings good news for prospective home buyers, with national property market conditions moving from a balanced market in December 2013 to a buyer’s market in March 2014.
For buyers, regional areas continue to show the most favourable conditions. No capital cities made the top 10 buyer’s markets.
The top five best buyer’s markets in Australia include:
- Wide Bay-Burnett, Qld
- Mersey-Lyell, Tas
- Far West, NSW
- West Moreton, Qld
- Central, WA
The top five best seller’s markets in Australia include:
- Central Highlands, Vic
- Sydney, NSW
- Melbourne, Vic
- Canberra, ACT
- Loddon, Vic
Prospective home buyers should consider the dramatically different conditions between metropolitan and regional areas, says Clive van Horen, General Manager Home Loans, Commonwealth Bank.
“The latest HBI shows while the metropolitan areas of Queensland and Tasmania provide good opportunities to negotiate on the sale price of a property, home buyers in the south eastern states should be cautious with their budgets and ensure they don’t pay more than the true-market value when purchasing a property,” he says.
“Overall, it’s important all home buyers continue to comprehensively research the market to understand the conditions in their area and state. It’s also essential to seek outside guidance through consulting with their home loan provider and sourcing true-market valuations for properties before negotiations take place.”
The latest HBI report noted mixed market conditions across the states and territories.
State/Territory: |
Market Conditions: |
New South Wales |
Balanced market – conditions stayed virtually unchanged in March 2014 as New South Wales remains a balanced market, while the Sydney market continues to strongly favour sellers. |
Victoria |
Balanced market – conditions in Melbourne have shifted slightly in favour of sellers in March 2014, however, conditions across the rest of the state are more balanced between buyers and sellers. |
Queensland |
Buyer’s market – buyers still firmly have the upper hand in Queensland with Brisbane offering solid opportunities with the coastal region of Wide Bay Burnett, becoming the top buyer’s market in the country in March 2014. |
South Australia |
Balanced market – state and capital city market conditions continue to be balanced in March 2014, with Adelaide showing a fairly equal level of power between both buyers and sellers. |
Western Australia |
Balanced market – while conditions in Western Australia shifted from a buyer’s market in December 2013 to a balanced market in March 2014, the Perth housing market continues to remain balanced. |
Tasmania |
Extreme buyer’s market – conditions remain unchanged in March 2014, with the state continuing to be more favourable to buyers than any other state or territory. |
Northern Territory |
Buyer’s market – although market conditions were balanced in December 2013, in March 2014 the property market moved in favour of buyers. |
Australian Capital Territory |
Seller’s market – with the state capital Canberra remaining one of the top five seller’s markets in the country, conditions shifted from a balanced market in December 2013 to favour sellers in March 2014. |
Between December 2013 and March 2014, market conditions have remained consistent across the capital cities with the exception of Canberra, which has moved from a balanced market to a seller’s market. The Central Highlands in Victoria also moved from the fourth best seller’s market previously to the top seller’s market in March 2014.
The HBI shows the best opportunities for buyers are in regional areas of Tasmania and Queensland, while sellers continue to enjoy the upper hand in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra, says Tim Lawless, National Research Director, RP Data.
“Although market conditions remain mixed across the states and territories, and their respective capital cities, there are some clear opportunities for home buyers, especially those looking for investment properties,” he says.
“By and large the best opportunities for home buyers are in regional areas, with particularly favourable conditions in areas outside of the metropolitan hubs of Queensland, Tasmania, South Australia and West Australia.”
To access the report summary visit commbank.com.au/hbi.
For more information, tips and guidance on purchasing or selling a property, please visit the CommBank blog at commbank.com.au/blog.
Editor’s note: About the Commonwealth Bank/RP Data Home Buyers Index Report
The HBI is based on the ratio of properties available for sale compared with the number of housing loans that are being committed to by Commonwealth Bank. The findings from the HBI report are reflected in the Property Buy/Sell Index – a free online tool for prospective buyers that combines historical sales data and current market information to offer insight into whether a particular region is a buyer’s or seller’s market. The online Index includes expert commentary on each region, and also offers an overview of the national housing market.
The Commonwealth Bank/RP Data Home Buyers Index provides an estimate of the level of supply and demand that is evident within the Australian real estate market. To calculate an estimate of supply, RP Data closely monitors the number of homes available for sale around Australia, including those from leading real estate portal, realestate.com.au and other real estate groups and advertising portals. On the demand side of the equation, Commonwealth Bank is the nation’s largest home loan lender, and as such can provide one of the timeliest and most representative estimates of housing demand in the market place. The HBI is produced across a range of geographic boundaries, from a national index to state level indices, major regional indices, capital cities and broad regions within capital cities.