With the RBA’s latest decision to be handed down in a week, new figures show despite nine consecutive rate rises, interest in property is returning as Australians take advantage of what’s becoming a buyer’s market.
In a single week, real estate experts InfoTrack have seen a 25% increase in the number of property searches carried out on their InfoTrackGO site.
It shows buyer sentiment is shifting with Australians once again doing research into property, from price guides and approved local developments, to checking if a home sits in a flood zone.
InfoTrack spokesperson Sandra Falzon said the last month has shown increased interest from prospective buyers across the country.
“The top searched States on InfoTrackGO were New South Wales, Victoria and Western Australia, in that order,” Ms Falzon said.
“The top searched suburbs were Five Dock in NSW and Orelia in WA.
“Orelia is particularly interesting because it offers an annual rental yield of 6.3%, which indicates investors may also be back on the property hunt.”
Half a million residential property transactions take place in Australia every year, and from streamlining conveyancing to helping Australians research property, InfoTrack is involved in almost all of them.
At the end of last year, InfoTrack found real estate sales had plummeted almost 40% as Australians adjusted to the rate rises and adopted a conservative approach to buying – but their latest research figures show that attitude is changing as property prices fall.
Experts predict prices will continue to drop over the coming months as banks pass on interest rate rises and homebuyers’ borrowing capacity is diminished.
“Our advice to anyone interested in taking advantage of this buyer’s market is to seek financial pre-approval as close as possible to purchasing, and to do your research,” Ms Falzon said.
“More than half of the searches carried out on InfoTrackGO are Title Searches. These show the names of the property owner(s), restrictions on the land, mortgage details, lease details and other relevant information associated with the property.
“It’s a smart next step when you have found a property you are interested in so you can make an informed decision on whether to buy or not.”
