If you’re a regular attendee of property auctions around the state, you won’t need us to tell you that confidence levels among home buyers has certainly increased over the past six to nine months. However, it is interesting to see this increase in confidence has been quantified by a recent survey that examined how Australians are viewing the property market at the moment.
The ME Bank conducted a survey in January this year as part of their most recent Property Sentiment Report. When compared with the results of their previous survey which was conducted in the 2nd quarter of 2019, they found that:
- Overall sentiment towards the property market had increased to a 21% nett positive rating, up from 7%;
- 55% of respondents expected property prices to rise over the next year, up from 38%;
- 51% of first home buyers planned to purchase in the next 12 months, up from 38%; and
- 46% said there was not enough choice available in the current market.
Interestingly for our local market, the report found that Victorians seemed more confident of price increases than other state. 67% of Victorian respondents were confident that property prices to go up, which was an increase of 10 percentage points from the last quarter of 2019, and a huge jump of 34 percentage points from the 2nd quarter of 2019.
Expectations of price increases were recorded across all types of respondents, including owner occupiers, first home buyers and investors.
If these growing signs of buyer confidence have got you wondering whether this is the ideal time to sell and move on to the next stage of your property journey, it is important to get experienced, objective property advice.
So why not give one of the team at Ian Reid Vendor Advocates a call on 1300 400 400 for expert guidance. You’ll also find lots of timely tips in our free booklet, “Fatal Real Estate Traps Exposed”.