A very good news for investors looking for house and land packages around Sydney and the general NSW area. Property experts are positive that there will be more house price growth in New South Wales this year compared to previous years. This is from a survey of more than 1,800 industry professionals. However, the continuing strong growth this year could still spell trouble for Sydney’s housing market.
The 2017 survey conducted by ANZ/Property Council revealed that property professionals, which range from real estate agents to developers were more positive now than they were just a year ago, about the likelihood of house price growth in the near future. In fact, the strongest growth expectations were concentrated in New South Wales, followed closely by the Australian Capital Territory, South Australia, and Victoria.
In New South Wales alone, the index has progressively risen over the past several surveys, though it experienced a bit of decline in March 2016 when Sydney’s median house price dropped below $1 million.
Jane Fitzgerald, executive director of the Property Council of NSW, stated that the state was in a great position as 2017 starts. She claimed that “NSW had a strong 2016 and the next 12 months are looking positive with high expectations for growth, investment and hiring across the state,” she recently told the Domain Group.”
Still, continued price growth caused some fear that a correction is looming. The SQM Research’s Housing Boom and Bust Report 2017 said that the price growth may leave the housing market “precariously overvalued…paving a way for a probable correction in 2018.”
Taking advantage of current standings
Nevertheless, the current price growth should be leveraged by those in search for a property investment by looking for a house and land packages around Sydney, the entire New South Wales state, followed closely by the Australian Capital Territory, South Australia, and Victoria.
An excerpt from the January 2017 Market report read that auction clearance rates are off the charts in Sydney, in fact, it has risen above 80 percent throughout the early spring selling weeks. To meet the heightened demand, the number of housing approvals has increased by more than 5 percent for both units and houses.
Simon Cohen, co-founder and managing director of Cohen Handler said that forecasting that the prestige market will continue growing at a healthy pace, as interest from international and local buyers continue to grow at an extraordinary rate.
Sydney’s suburban sprawl
For areas that are priced out of the market in metro areas, the regional NSW region is worth exploring. For instance, Illawarra’s properties are still affordable, while still being accessible to and from Sydney through cars and trains. This region has been particularly strong since 2013 as demand has slowly shifted to the area.
Elsewhere, it’s fascinating to note that housing market growth has been strong in areas like Central Coast, Wollongong, and the Blue Mountains, based on Knight Frank’s Australian Residential Review. Andre Wilson, chief economist at Domain Group said that the suburban sprawl of Sydney has now caught up, and soon we’ll consider Wollongong a part of Sydney.