Two recent reports show start to 2021 couldn’t really be much more optimistic in the world of property

Housing finance is on the rise

Housing finance is up 65.5 % on the decade average, with NSW ranked as second on housing finance according to CommSec’s State of States report.

This report looks at how Australia’s states and territories are performing by analysing eight key indicators: economic growth; retail spending; equipment investment; unemployment; construction work done; population growth; housing finance and dwelling commencements.

Just as the Reserve Bank uses long-term averages to determine the level of “normal” interest rates; it does the same with the economic indicators. For each state and territory, latest readings for the key indicators were compared with decade averages – that is, against the “normal” performance.

The report shows NSW continues to be consistently strong across all indicators.

“NSW remains ranked second on five of the eight indicators. State economic activity remains strong with output 24.7 % above the ‘normal’ level of output. While NSW fell one spot each on population growth and dwelling starts, strong employment, construction and home building sectors continue to buoy the state,” CommSec Chief Economist Craig James said.

Australian housing values reach a new record high

The Newcastle/Lake Macquarie area has seen an overall growth of 10 % last year according to property industry data analysist CoreLogic.

CoreLogic’s research director, Tim Lawless, says internal migration data shows more people are leaving Sydney for regional areas, resulting in a transition of activity from the metro regions to the outer fringe and regional markets.

“Better housing affordability, an opportunity for a lifestyle upgrade and lower density housing options are other factors that might be contributing to this trend, along with the new found popularity of remote working arrangements,” he says.

Interest rates still at a record low

Adding to the good news indicated by these two reports, at the beginning of February, the Reserve Bank of Australia yet again announced it won’t be changing the record-low cash rate of 0.1 per cent.

Philip Lowe, Governor: Monetary Policy Decision, says the Board will not increase the cash rate until actual inflation is sustainably within the 2 to 3 % target range. “For this to occur, wages growth will have to be materially higher than it is currently. This will require significant gains in employment and a return to a tight labour market. The Board does not expect these conditions to be met until 2024 at the earliest,” he concludes.

So, what does all this mean?

With interest rates at a record low, the economy picking up and plenty of government incentives to help home owners, and Newcastle and the surrounds being a very desirable place to live, we are seeing an increase in people wanting to buy all types of property.

• If you’re thinking of downsizing, now is the time to seriously consider doing it.
• If you’re thinking of a change in lifestyle, now is the time to seriously consider doing it.
• If you’re looking at releasing some capital and cashing out your investment property, now is the time to seriously consider doing it.

Basically, if you’ve been thinking of selling your property for whatever reason, we believe now is a really good time to do it! We are constantly getting requests for all types of property and are in desperate need of more properties to sell meet the current strong demand.

Why not get in touch for a free, independent and non-obligatory discussion? At the same time, we’ll give you a bit more food for thought by highlighting any areas to improve to help add value.

Having been in the business for 40 plus years, we’ve helped thousands of people and are constantly achieving great results. Call in and see us in the Cardiff office or give us a call on 02 4954 8833. Or send us an email to: mail@apnewcastle.com.au – we’d love to hear from you.

And don’t forget to check out our Facebook page for handy tips on selling your property or what to look for when buying a property.