If you’ve been thinking about investing in Sydney but haven’t done so, you may have to work harder and look further to get a good deal.
Herron Todd White’s Kim Quick says there’s currently a distinct lack of listings as properties are quickly snapped up as soon as they come on the market.
“The single biggest factor affecting the market across all metropolitan suburbs is the lack of available stock,” she says.
The consensus from both agents and prospective buyers is that there is simply not enough property for sale at present, she continues. “Because of this shortness in supply, when properties do come on the market we are seeing some very positive sale prices.”
This anecdotal evidence is backed up by a recent report by RP Data which found that listing numbers in Sydney are about 28% lower than a year ago. This comes as sales activity jumps 30% over the same period – creating a perfect storm for price growth.
However, Sydney’s undersupply situation is likely to be improved in the future with a significant increase in new homes being built around Sydney. Over the 12 months to September, construction of new homes jumped 35%. This represented a 10 year high, according the state government.
Western Sydney councils saw the bulk of the growth with the highest completions in Blacktown (2,021), Parramatta (1,336), Camden (1,290), Penrith (1,271) Liverpool (1,185) and The Hills (1,037) local government areas.
