As we now approach the end of July, the market has continued to rebuff the traditional quieter winter months with live listings 20 per cent higher than the same period last year. Our sales activity has continued to outperform last year with total sales value 10.29 per cent higher than 12 months ago at $208 million for the last 7 days. Those sellers that are in the market now or about to enter the market are largely benefiting from the continued supply and demand dynamic and the deep buyer weighted in their favour.
As written in the opening letter, most market commentators have now revised their previous negative predictions that there would be a downturn in residential property prices and have acknowledged on a number of levels that all of the data is pointing to continued stability and, in many of the markets, a heightened level of activity.
The highly competitive mortgage rates that are currently on offer continue to provide historically low borrowing costs and in-turn raising buyers purchasing power. Properties sold by auction in the last week achieved 4.8 registered bidders on average compared with 2.8 registered bidders from the same period last year. In addition to this, a net 89 per cent of property taken to auction received active bidding - providing owners with the chance to make informed decisions based on real market activity.
