25 May 2022

Property market sees a swing towards buyers

The electorate didn’t just see a swing away from the LNP on the weekend, buyer’s agents are now reporting marked signs of a swing away from a seller’s market.

According to Australia’s largest professional network of buyer’s agents, recent months have seen buyers turn away from off-the-plan, renovators and land purchases due to the soaring cost of building supplies and inflated labour costs.

Real Estate Buyers Agents Association (REBAA) president Cate Bakos said the sharp rise in construction costs had seen an immediate response from buyers to shy away from properties that require renovations or large-scale building construction work.

“This is a dangerous time to be buying off-the-plan property or new house and land packages and buyers are warned to read the fine print of any contract,” she said.

“Likewise properties with development potential, either subdivision projects or townhouse developments are also losing their appeal.

“Many builders are struggling to honour quotes and others are deciding to return deposits knowing they cannot deliver on initial quotes.

“On the flipside we’re seeing many homes presented for sale and styled in a way to disguise much needed building work.

“Buyers need to take their time at inspections, enlist the help of a building inspector or risk incurring costly building modifications or improvements. If the property needs work, then you need to factor this in to your offer price.”

Ms Bakos said on the plus side, lack of demand for certain properties was taking some of the energy out of an overheated property market.

Rising interest rates and the cooler weather was also contributing to a swing away from a seller’s market.

“We are definitely seeing signs of the market turning,” said Ms Bakos.

“Based on updates from our members in various capital city and regional areas around the nation, A-grade properties are still performing well and attracting competitive bidding, but buyers are applying careful scrutiny to compromised dwellings, those requiring renovation or improvement and new purchases with questionable settlement dates.

“Needless to say short-term price speculation or flipping properties are high risk, but any long-term buyers could find great buying opportunities with softer conditions and less competition.”