Sellers are missing out on pocketing tens of thousands of dollars in profit by not putting their homes on the market, experts warn
SELLERS could be missing out on pocketing tens of thousands of dollars in profit by not putting their homes on the market at a time when buyers are crying out for properties, experts warn.
New research reveals demand for properties in key Greater Brisbane suburbs has more than doubled in the past year, but homeowners are sitting on their hands for fear of not being able to find somewhere else to buy.
Realestate.com.au analysis shows house-hunters are desperate to buy in the suburbs of Barellan Point, Fairfield and Tarragindi, but are struggling to find properties for sale, with listings down some 10 per cent on the same time last year.
Realestate.com.au chief economist Nerida Conisbee said there were “millions more buyers” hunting for homes and prices were rising in line with increased competition, but sellers were missing out on the action.
Barellan Point in the Ipswich region is the most in demand suburb in Greater Brisbane, jumping from 108th in the popularity stakes to top spot.
The suburb attracted more than 4800 searches per home listing on realestate.com.au in the past 12 months — a four-fold increase in demand.
Ms Conisbee said that was probably because properties in Barellan Point were quite affordable compared to other rural-residential areas across Brisbane.
Most of the other popular suburbs are blue-chip, inner-city or middle-ring suburbs.
Fairfield, Tarragindi, Chandler and Wishart are the next most in demand suburbs among house-hunters, followed by Holland Park, Paddington and Grange, which also made last year’s top 10 list.
Ms Conisbee said the increase in buyer demand for these suburbs was linked to a lack of properties available for sale.
Brisbane’s auction clearance has surged above 60 per cent — a level not seen in five years.
Ms Conisbee said Queensland was not typically a big auction market, but the rise in the number of homes selling under the hammer was a sign that buyer confidence was high.
“We’re seeing millions more buyers on realestate.com.au, but with a lack of homes on the market, competition is heating up and prices are rising,” she said.
“Now is a good time to go to auction.”
REA Group executive manager of economic research Cameron Kusher said there was “no really good reason why sellers should be sitting on their hands”.
“I think some people are not convinced the market is as strong as it actually is, and I think the other thing is because there’s not a lot of stock listed for sale, there’s probably some concern that if they were to put their propety on the market, they’d sell it, but there would be nothing there for them to actually purchase,” Mr Kusher said.
“There’s clearly been a jump in people actively looking to buy properties and still not enough stock on the market, so it’s a good time to sell.”
Mr Kusher said the most in-demand suburbs in Brisbane from a buyer’s perspective were in the city’s more established, inner and middle ring suburbs.
“If you’ve got a good property in a sought-after location, you’re probably going to get a pretty big price for it at the moment,” he said.
“Particularly in these suburbs, we’re going to continue to see price growth while there is an undersupply of stock coming to market.”
The latest figures from SQM Research show listings in Brisbane fell 1.2 per cent in February and are down more than 10 per cent compared with the same time last year.
SQM Research managing director Louis Christopher said it was less a case of sellers sitting on their hands as buyers snapping up stock that had been sitting on the market for months.
“There is still less stock because buyers are swamping the market,” Mr Christopher said.
“These are good selling conditions, but we don’t know how long they’re going to last.
“The coronavirus is creating more uncertainty out there.”
Mr Christopher said the two potential risks to the housing market were the reluctance of people to turn up to home inspections and auctions because of the coronavirus, and the possibility of an economic downturn.
Jeremy Medina and Carlie Green-Medina are selling their seven-bedroom home on more than 1ha of acreage in Chandler, which is one of the most in-demand suburbs for buyers.
Ms Green-Medina said they had more than 200 people through the property at 920 Boston Road at the first inspection, which confirmed their thoughts that it was a good time to sell.
“There are definitely buyers out there, and we’ve seen some of the neighbours sell and get a really good price,” Ms Green-Medina said.
The Medinas were advised to take the home to auction after receiving some early offers, and were buoyed by the rise in Brisbane clearance rates.
“The suburb’s great, the neighbours are lovely and Carindale’s like 10 minutes away,” Ms Green-Medina said.
“Everything’s so convenient, yet you have the benefit of having space.”
Marketing agent Glen Bool of Place – Bulimba said there was 30 per cent less stock on the market compared to this time last year.
“I don’t know why people are holding off,” Mr Bool said.
“If I had any thought of selling in the last two to three years, now is the time to do it.”
Mr Bool said there was hardly any stock on the market in Chandler, yet it was highly in demand.
“We’ve had multiple offers come in really quickly (for 920 Boston Road) so to be fair to everybody, we’ve converted to auction,” he said.
Home hunters Cameron and Melanie McPherson have been seriously looking to buy a house in Brisbane’s middle ring suburbs since before Christmas.
“When something vaguely fitting our criteria comes on, it is snapped up immediately,” Mr McPherson said.
“We turn up to the first open home and there are already 30 pairs of shoes at the door, then squeeze through everyone to check out each room, then speak to the agent and they have already got offers.
“As a first home buyer, it’s intimidating to have to make such a big decision so quickly.
“Hopefully a few more properties come onto the market soon.”
Sarah Hackett of Place-Bulimba said riverfront properties up for sale in Brisbane were extremely scarce.
“There is nothing on the market at the moment on the river,” Mrs Hackett said.
“In fact, there is 30 per cent less stock in the top end than there was in 2019.”
Mrs Hackett said there were more buyers than sellers in the prestige property market, and a lack of stock.
“I talk to people and they say; ‘Where do we go? Why would we sell when there’s nowhere else to go?” she said.
“It’s also a big ordeal to sell.”
GREATER BRISBANE’S MOST IN DEMAND SUBURBS FOR HOUSES & UNITS
Suburb Jan-20 rank Jan-20 search/listing Jan-19 rank Jan-19 search/listing
Barellan Point 1 4873 108 1178
Fairfield 2 3959 361 728
Tarragindi 3 3927 14 2273
Chandler 4 3772 23 2009
Wishart 5 3626 11 2337
Holland Park 6 3316 6 2429
Paddington 7 3266 2 2632
Grange 8 3047 4 2507
Wavell Heights 9 3047 16 2227
Stafford Heights 10 2859 13 2292
(Source: Realestate.com.au)
GREATER BRISBANE’S MOST IN DEMAND SUBURBS FOR HOUSES
Suburb Jan-20 rank Jan-20 search/listing Jan-19 rank Jan-19 search/listing
Barellan Point 1 5956 149 1401
Windsor 2 5236 9 2916
Fairfield 3 4914 48 2290
Wishart 4 4753 6 3084
Tarragindi 5 4352 30 2594
Gordon Park 6 4263 29 2603
Chandler 7 4246 56 2225
Greenslopes 8 4208 53 2258
Paddington 9 4179 2 3481
Holland Park West 10 3961 22 2729
(Source: Realestate.com.au)
GREATER BRISBANE’S MOST IN DEMAND SUBURBS FOR UNITS
Suburb Jan-20 rank Jan-20 search/listing Jan-19 rank Jan-19 search/listing
Fairfield 1 2495 22 912
New Farm 2 1775 5 1310
Herston 3 1769 21 931
Mount Gravatt East 4 1735 23 908
Red Hill 5 1719 4 1389
Auchenflower 6 1601 15 991
Paddington 7 1577 6 1195
Ashgrove 8 1490 8 1105
Camp Hill 9 1484 2 1506
Gordon Park 10 1443 9 1071
(Source: Realestate.com.au)
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