BY BYRON FREEBORN, RAINE & HORNE WYNNUM
What do you do when you are not sure about the future? Some people batten down the hatches, others play it conservatively, and some come out to play!
Within developer circles, now’s the time to start buying again. Many of these seasoned buyers have put their acquisitions on hold over the last 12 to 18 months, with the market being too hot and profit margins squeezed. Now, as every second or third potential buyer is sitting in the bleachers waiting to see what will happen, the more confident buyers – developer and non-developer – are moving forward with the house or land they want. Previously they may have settled for a home that fell short of their ideal criteria – we saw a lot of this up until late last year into early this year.
Cashed-up buyers, and buyers with lower gearing requirements (particularly those with five to 10-year purchasing horizons), have not been fazed by the interest rate question. In fact, it’s been a similar scenario to the Tesla driver of late: as the fuel prices rise, the effect has been negligible.
Will the great crash occur in our local property market? Perhaps we may be more likely to see a slow and steady market for the next five-plus years (and that’s guesswork at best). Current sales for the last quarter still incorporate the healthy increase that we saw over the last 12-month period.
International immigration may soon increase and create more demand for property. We have the second runway at the airport ready to go. If the airport activity ramps up, that’s when the bayside suburbs may see more Bulimba/Hawthorne buyers scoot over our way to quieter waters.
