April 2007

Welcome to House Search News for April 2007

The weather may well be cooling down here in Sydney but the real estate market has been warming up! With the official hold on interest rates (for now) it appears that more home buyers and investors are reconsidering purchasing again, particularly with the rising rental market in most areas of our city. According to Westpac interest rate strategist, Damien McColough, the consensus now is that the RBA will leave rates on hold throughout 2007.

Should you or a colleague be interested in finding out how a buyers agent can benefit you with your next home or investment purchase here in Sydney, please go to our website for further information. We would be more than happy to answer any questions you might have or to arrange an obligation free meeting to discuss your specific requirements. We aim to make buying property stress-free!

Warm Regards

Jacque Parker and Theresa McHale

Directors
House Search Australia

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Another happy customer..

UK- based Michael and Elizabeth had this to say recently about us…

“House Search stepped in and acted very quickly when we called them and time was tight for the auction. They helped to provide the information and advice we needed in the short time available and when it actually came to the auction Jacque was awesome! No one was going to get that unit but us! We were very impressed

We have no hesitation in recommending House Search Australia”

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Market Update – Sydney Property News

According to RP Data, the median house price in Sydney is now $515,200, compared to $512,090 in March last year. There is also a lot more property coming on to the market – 44,823 houses for sale this March, against 39,742 in March last year. However, RPData representative, Kris Mathews, believes that though the positive growth indicators are there, the Sydney market is still somewhat sluggish.

Macquarie Bank analyst, Rod Cornish, had this to recently say about his belief on where Sydney is in the current cycle, “Conditions will improve and the next phase is stabilisation which will see fairly moderate growth and sales volumes increasing – depending on fairly flat interest rates”.

John Edwards, from Residex, believes that, “Over the last three to four months we’ve seen the market rising. There’s a clear upward trend and we would expect the market to continue to correct”

Certainly a mixed bag of opinions, with the main consensus being that the worst appears to be over for Sydney, especially in the more popular suburbs such as the lower North Shore. Growth since last March in this region has increased, with prices having gone up 9 per cent over the past year, with the median house price rising there from $1.03 million in March last year to $1.12 million now.

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Useful Links

Have you ever wanted to ask a question about real estate but didn’t know where to start?

For anything property-related, from renovations to selecting the next “Hotspot”, tenant and landlord issues, finance and affordability, negotiating and developing….. this site’s the place:

www.somersoft.com.au

Originally started by the Queensland based investor, Jan Somers, this forum contains a wealth of useful information to help you get started or refine your strategies, when it comes to property.

Membership is absolutely free and you’ll join a likeminded group whose passion is property and all that goes with it. Check it out today.

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Article of the month – Downsizing

I was recently interviewed for a Sydney Morning Herald article (Domain) about what downsizers are looking for when it comes to property. More and more “baby boomers” are downsizing out of their larger family homes into newer and hassle-free apartments and houses. It’s certainly a big decision, and one that shouldn’t be undertaken lightly or without enough research.

For the entire article click here