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Tyrrell Hill and his wife Taew Srisa-ard are excited to have finally found an affordable house in Thomson. Picture: Peter Ristevski

A couple who moved back to Geelong from Sydney to get a foot on the property ladder have realised their dream after beating competition for a renovated Thomson house.

Hayeswinckle, East Geelong agent Adam Murphy said the three-bedroom house at 8 Robertson St went under offer within days and attracted multiple offers.

Tyrrell Hill and his wife Taew Srisa-ard paid $435,500 for the 650sq m property, ending a long search for their first home together.

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First-home buyers were lining up to check out 8 Robertson St, Thomson.

Mr Hill said they had looked at about 100 houses across Geelong’s most affordable suburbs since moving back from Sydney 15 months ago.

This one appealed because of the work had that already been done, including a new kitchen and renovated bathroom.

“I moved to Geelong because it was entirely unaffordable in Sydney,” he said.

“I had been looking extensively and the reason was I didn’t want to extend myself on borrowing in the current situation.

Taew Srisa-ard and Tyrrell Hill outside their new house with Hayeswinckle, East Geelong agent Adam Murphy. Picture: Peter Ristevski

The renovated interior was a big attraction.

“We had a number of things that we were looking at … we were looking at the best value and this house was very much in our range.”

Mr Murphy said the house attracted mainly first-home buyers chasing a renovated entry-level home.

He said 20 private inspections over the first weekend of the campaign netted multiple offers.

Polished floors and lots of natural light are a feature of the loungeroom.

Fellow Hayeswinckle agent Yan Lin said the 3219 postcode, which covers Newcomb, Thomson, Breakwater, St Albans Park and Whittington, as well as pricier East Geelong, had become the go-to area for buyers wanting to spend under $500,000 and get a decent parcel of land.

She said tipped the area would jump in value in next five years as more people recognised its potential.

“Thomson is one of those areas that people weren’t interested in before but because of the budget they are looking at it,” she said.

Thomson’s median house price has risen 4.9 per cent to $417,500 over the past 12 months, Hometrack data shows.

The post Couple gets lucky property break with quick Thomson sale appeared first on realestate.com.au.

South Beach at Elliott Heads will offer an alternate destination to Noosa Heads and Byron Bay.

One of Queensland’s largest masterplanned communities launches to market this weekend in a $2 billion investment in the Bundaberg Region that will see 3200 homes built.

South Beach at Elliott Heads is a 246 hectare parcel of land just three streets from white sandy beaches and the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.

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The site of the new South Beach community at Elliott Heads.

The farming land has been in the Manero family for generations and is being developed in a joint venture between the Manero family and Sydney-based developer Stan L Vin who has worked on the development for 12 years.

SEE WHAT ELSE IS FOR SALE IN ELLIOTT HEADS

The house and land packages are priced from $395,000 to entice first-home buyers as well as interstate buyers and almost 3000 people have pre-registered sales interest ahead of the launch.

South Beach artist’s impression.

“Out of those registrations there’s a lot of interstate interest with people wanting a sea change,” PRD Bundaberg agent Ainsley Driver said.

“But even in previous dealings before this development, a lot of people moving in to Elliott Heads are from interstate. It’s the sleepy little coastal town.

“Elliott Heads is truly reminiscent of the old Noosa Heads or Byron Bay of the 1970s and we expect it to become one of the most sought-after residential hot spots in the years to come.”

Stage one of the four or five stage development, which includes a shopping complex, will cost $100 million and include 233 homesites starting at around 450sq m.

South Beach at Elliott Heads.

Operational works will begin by the end of December and depending on how well the first stage sells, owners will be able to start building on their new homesite in June next year.

Queensland is facing the tightest rental market since the Global Financial Crisis in new figures released by the Real Estate Institute of Queensland and Bundaberg, a four-hour drive north of Brisbane, has reported a less than zero per cent vacancy rate, so the injection of new housing that is targeting entry level as well as more advanced budgets, comes at a welcome time for people seeking a home or an investment opportunity.

“Young couples need to get into the property market, this is the chance. With all the government grants out there at the moment, it just makes sense.”

The community will promote homes with a Hamptons-style and has been designed by Bureau Proberts lead designer Brian Toyota.

The beach at Elliott Heads.

“You can walk to the end of the block and see the ocean and there’s half a kilometre of white sand, it’s a beautiful spot,” Mr La Vin said.

“I don’t know any masterplanned communities this close to the beach.”

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The post $2 billion development for the Bundaberg region has beach appeal appeared first on realestate.com.au.

HOBART has outperformed Australia’s major capital city property markets, recording another small rise in median dwelling values despite COVID-19.

The city recorded a dwelling (house and units) value increase of 0.1 per cent in August despite a national decrease in values of 0.4 per cent.

Houses saw the biggest monthly increase, up 0.3 per cent, but a 0.7 per cent decrease in unit values clawed back the dwelling average increase, according to the CoreLogic Hedonic Home Value Index for August.

Melbourne, which is in the grips of a strict level four lockdown due to outbreaks of the novel coronavirus, saw a decline of 1.2 per cent (overall dwelling values) over the same one month period.

Sydney saw declines of 0.5 per cent, while Brisbane posted a 0.1 per cent drop.

The best performing city was Darwin, which saw values increase by 1 per cent in August, albeit of several years of declining values.

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CoreLogic’s head of research Tim Lawless said the performance of each housing market was “intrinsically linked with the extent of social distancing policies and border closures which also have a direct effect on labour market conditions and sentiment”.

“The Melbourne housing market is the main drag on the headline results,” he said. “Through the COVID period to date, Melbourne home values have fallen by 4.6 per cent.”

In Hobart, dwelling values increased 0.3 per cent over the last quarter and 5.5 per cent over the past 12 months, with median values (houses and units) reaching $490,743.

“Looking forward we are likely to see a diverse outcome for housing markets around Australia, depending on how well the virus is contained and the regions exposure to

other factors such as its reliance on overseas migration as a source of housing demand,” Mr Lawless said.

Tim Lawless

Tasmania’s borders have been slammed shut since March 19, with Premier Peter Gutwein recently announcing the moat would remain in place until at least December 1.

The state has just one active case – a man in hospital who returned from Melbourne after seeking medical treatment in August.

Low levels of cases and eased restrictions in many regional markets is just two of the factors holding up the smaller markets.

The data shows the best performing markets besides Hobart are Adelaide and Perth (0.0% change), Canberra (up 0.5%) and Darwin (up 1%).

All of those markets have zero or minimal cases and more freedoms.

Mr Lawless said regional markets also tended to be less reliant on overseas migration.

“Regional markets may also be appealing for their relatively low density and lower price points,” he said.

“The normalisation of remote work through the pandemic could make proximity

to major cities less of a factor in home purchasing decisions.”

Anecdotally, local real agents are reporting an uplift in interstate buyer inquiry, particularly from Victoria.

Petrusma Property Hobart/Sandy Bay managing director and auctioneer Sam Towns said he had sold properties to “plenty of interstate buyers”, with a number prepared to buy sight unseen.

He said border closures meant buyers were able to do virtual tours of homes instead.

“They are from all over (Australia),” he said. “I think people are seeing Hobart and Tasmania as a bit of a sanctuary.

“If they can’t move immediately, they are certainly wanting to make the move here one day.

“And if their job can be done remotely, that creates flexibility.”

Mr Towns said the key suburbs being looked at by interstate buyers were those closest to the CBD – West Hobart, Sandy Bay, Battery Point and the like.

He said Hobart offered great views, lifestyle, proximity to the city, lifestyle and relative affordability compared to the likes of Sydney and Melbourne.

Charlotte Peterswald for Property sales manager Debbie Heron said interstate buyer inquiries were “trickling in” but she expected that change dramatically once the border opened.

“Once borders open, the Hobart market will go ballistic,” she said. “In the interim, locals are taking advantage of less competition.”

CoreLogic Hedonic Home Value Index August 2020 – Change in dwelling values (houses and units combined)

The post Hobart defies COVID-19 odds to record price growth appeared first on realestate.com.au.

TOWNSVILLE’S prestige market continues to see strong results, with a luxury house complete with its own exclusive marina berth selling for $2.3 million during the height of Queensland’s pandemic crisis.

Located at 8/48-55 Sir Leslie Thiess Drive, the luxurious property is the city’s top sale so far this year, and was designed by Greg Van Dinter and built by Glenn Sexton Constructions. It was sold by Ray White’s Julie Mahoney, who has dominated the top sales list so far this year, taking out four of the top five spots. Ms Mahoney’s other top sales have been in North Ward and on Castle Hill.

Julie Mahoney PICTURE: MATT TAYLOR.

“The prestige market is in high demand, particular in that $1 million to $1.5 million bracket,” Ms Mahoney said.

“I am getting multiple buyers for million-dollar properties … and it is all local interest. They are retirees, business people, medical professionals, its across the board so there is confidence returning again.”

Castle Hill retains its crown as Townsville’s most expensive suburb with a median sales price of $865,000, albeit it has seen a drop of 5.7 per cent over 12 months.

Castle Hill and The Strand

North Ward holds the second spot with a median sales price of $642,500, but the beachside suburb posted a whopping 23.6 per cent increase over 12 months.

Interestingly, the realestate.com.au data shows that the other three top spots were taken out by suburbs away from the city.

They were Alice River, Jensen and Alligator, with those largely acreage suburbs recording median sales price increases of 19.3 per cent, 32.2 per cent and 24.1 per cent respectively.

The other property to land a spot on the top 5 sales list was 30 Palm Street at Rowes Bay, which was sold by Tracey Stack of M Property Townsville. Ms Stack said finding the right buyer was key. She said she was seeing an increasing number of buyers in the $1.5 million to $3 million price bracket.

30 Palm Street at Rowes Bay sold for $1.65 million

“I think there has been more buyers in that top end than we have seen in years,” she said.

Ms Stack attributed that to high-wage earners in the defence, health, university and infrastructure sectors, plus the influence of low interest rates and a change in priorities.

“I think when people were in lockdown the value of having a home they felt comfortable in became more apparent,” she said.

“A lot of buyers have also been looking for a home they can work remotely from.”

That has included increased interest from both intrastate and interstate buyers and investors.

“I have seen a lot more inquiries from Victorians … I recently also had two buyers, one from the ACT and the other from NSW, who took the opportunity to move north before the lockdown,” she said.

“People are wanting more space, more comfort, and to be living in a place they really want to live.”

“I have even had inquiries from some organisations looking to regionalise some of their workforce.”

Ms Stack said that the silver lining of the pandemic could be a population shift towards the regions.

“There has been a noticeable shift in sentiment because movements have been restricted, forcing buyers to really think about where and how they want to live,” she said.

The post The suburbs posting median sales price increases despite Covid appeared first on realestate.com.au.

COMMENT

Heading into the traditional spring selling season, Sydney’s residential listing numbers are slightly down on the same time last year.

This reduced level of advertised inventory has been a key factor in insulating homes from sizeable price falls through the COVID-19 pandemic to-date.

So far there has been only limited distressed listings, and mostly from investors with empty apartments or no job, rather than owner occupiers, although this could change as fiscal support tapers off and the banks get nervous about their home loan arrears.

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If Sydney does see a dramatic spike in listings, and that does come most springs, it will lead to vendors needing to offer higher discounts to get their house sold. But sellers have yet to be forced into any serious discounting as they meet the new emerging market.

Vendor discounting for private treaty Sydney listings sits at 2.5 per cent for houses and 2.4 per cent for units, according to CoreLogic, which suggests estate agents are doing a great job on pricing to meet the market.

Vendor discounting has remained relatively low so far.

Houses have been taking 41 days and units 44 days to sell during the late winter months, which given the circumstances is a terrific time frame.

Other than homeowners retaining jobs, the next biggest issue whether Sydney’s housing markets can remain relatively resilient is the reopening of international borders, which isn’t going to happen anytime soon.

But the absence of foreign buyers has certainly assisted first time buyers into the more affordable apartment market.

The Federal Budget on October 6, and the NSW budget on November 19, will help shape the direction of housing markets, with no doubt additional policy measures.

The post Low listing levels have kept housing market from plunging appeared first on realestate.com.au.

Todd Carney has sold his Waverley investment apartment. Picture: Zak Simmonds

Former NRL star Todd Carney has sold his Waverley investment apartment.

Carney bought the one-bedroom, one-bathroom property for $607,000 in 2011.

It was snappily sold with no disclosed price by Albert Sassoon at McGrath, but buyers were being told $900,000. It had been a $695 a week rental in late 2019 having first yielded $550 a week on its purchase.

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Carney bought the unit in 2011. Picture: Zak Simmonds

The property has one bedroom and one bathroom.

Located on Birrell St, the apartment offers a modern kitchen, open plan living and dining, and a private courtyard.

The sale comes ­shortly after the disposal of his Sans Souci investment property at $600,500 in June.

Carney is also set to auction off a Coogee two-bedroom apartment that he bought in 2010 for $880,000.

It had been a $695 a week rental in late 2019.

The living space.

Carney, who has been dating the former Married At First Sight star Susie Bradley, recently opened a new tattoo studio, Island of the Gods Ink, in Bali. He participated in dry July.

There is a $563,500 median price for Waverley’s one-bedders, according to realestate.com.au.

The post Former NRL player Todd Carney sells Waverley investment apartment appeared first on realestate.com.au.

CBD apartments are among the weaker Sydney markets. Picture: John Feder

Falls in Sydney home prices have been slowing over the past month but the market will be on a knife edge this spring as government and banks scale back support for struggling households.

The median home price inched down 0.5 per cent over August, nearly half the rate of decline recorded over July, according to CoreLogic’s hedonic home value index published Tuesday.

The median price of a Sydney home is now about $860,000 – 2.6 per cent lower than it was four months ago but 9.8 per cent higher than a year ago.

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CoreLogic noted there was wide variance in price movements across city regions.

Higher end markets such as the Sutherland Shire and northern beaches, along with Parramatta and Ryde, recorded the biggest declines in values.

Prices in much of the Greater Western Sydney area were more resilient, with values in the southwest, Blacktown and Hills region recording only minor falls.

The biggest fall was observed in the northern beaches, with a 1.5 per cent average drop over August, while the best performing market was the Central Coast with a 0.3 per cent rise.

CoreLogic analyst Eliza Owen said the falls in pricier regions were typical of the start of housing downturns.

Prices tended to fall in more expensive markets first and the weakness then “rippled out” to cheaper suburbs, she said.

“The Central Coast is probably lagging Sydney, while in the more expensive areas there may be more willingness for vendors to adjust their expectations,” Ms Owen said. “More expensive areas are also more volatile because they had larger price rises before the pandemic.”

CoreLogic’s Eliza Owen said vendors may be adjusting their price expectations.

Ms Owen described the market as “stable” but with high “downside risk” because of the potential for another outbreak and further job losses, which would thin the pool of buyers.

She pointed to Melbourne as an example of what would happen to Sydney if there was another outbreak. Melbourne median price dropped 1.2 per cent for the month and 5.6 per cent over the past four months – which Ms Owen said was “significant”.

Prices were largely unchanged in Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth.

CoreLogic’s head of research Tim Lawless said Sydney price falls were lower than last month due to buoyant buyer activity and fewer homeowners listing their properties, which meant sellers didn’t need to make major price cuts to get their homes sold.

Bank support for homeowners such as mortgage deferral periods also prevented a widespread rise in distressed sales that would otherwise drag down prices.

Buyers are more likely to get discounts in areas with lots of high density units.

“This could potentially change as fiscal support starts to taper at the end of September and distressed borrowers taking a repayment holiday reach their six month check-in period,” Mr Lawless said.

“The timing of these two events could be the catalyst for a gradual rise in distressed listings … it could signal that vendors will need to offer up greater discounts.”

My Housing Market economist Andrew Wilson said the region most in danger of mass distressed sales was the CBD and its surrounds.

Landlords in the area were struggling to tenant their properties due to travel restrictions, which kept away international students and travellers who normally rented their homes out, he said.

Realestate.com.au chief economist Nerida Conisbee said the market was more uneven than normal. “You might get a bargain on a CBD unit, but not a luxury Bronte house – differences in the market have become more extreme.”

HOME PRICE MOVEMENTS IN SYDNEY REGIONS

(by three-month change)

Central Coast 0.5%

Hills region -1.6%

Blacktown -0.9%

City and inner south -1.4%

Eastern suburbs -1.0%

Inner southwest -2.6%

Inner west -2.9%

North shore -2.8%

Northern beaches -3.8%

Outer southwest -0.6%

Outer west and Blue Mountains -1.0%

Parramatta -2.6%

Ryde -2.5%

Southwest -1.9%

Sutherland Shire -3.9%

Greater Sydney -2.1%

Source: CoreLogic, includes data for houses and units

The post Sydney housing market ‘uneven’ as price changes vary across regions appeared first on realestate.com.au.

Retired Sydney Swans captain Kieren Jack has listed in Randwick. (AAP Image/Brendon Thorne)

Retired Sydney Swans captain Kieren Jack has listed a Randwick investment apartment for sale.

Jack, who retired last year, and is now the Swans business development manager, paid $570,000 for the apartment in 2009, two years into his playing time at Moore Park.

The two-bedroom apartment, near the new light rail, sits on the top level of a 1960s block of nine.

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Jack now lives in Paddington. Picture. Phil Hillyard

Inside the spacious two-bedroom apartment.

Jack, who briefly called the apartment home, is now based in Paddington with his wife Charlotte.  

Carl Wilson, from Home ­Estate Agents, has the Mulwarree Ave unit listed for September 19 auction with 11 groups at yesterday’s first open for inspection.

They were advised the price guide was $925,000 to $975,000.

Views from the balcony.

The price guide was $925,000 to $975,000.

Randwick has a $1 million median for its two bedrooms units which typically rent for $600 a week.

Based on five years of sales, Randwick has seen a compound 5.6 per cent price growth for units, ­according to realestate.com.au.

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