Cunninghams Property Update

Wow, how brilliant a location is the Northern Beaches of Sydney? 15 magnificent ocean beaches to enjoy surfing and nippers with your family, 15 beautiful harbour beaches to swim, snorkel or just people-watch and 15 minutes to the city on a fast ferry (well don’t get me on a technicality!) We’re always amazed at what we have on offer here, Sydney is a unique global city in this regard and we have all of this and a national park right on our doorstep.

Take the plunge and secure your own slice of paradise – now is the time to commit. We have sold 35 properties in the past 5 weeks but we still have 20 open for viewing this weekend and 5 new listings in the wind. The festive season is upon us so act soon before the market quietens down and you could still be in before Christmas. There’s still time to enjoy your summer and all the great things on offer on your doorstep

With the outcome of yesterday’s official ’shocking’ interest rate rise – sorry we’re getting Melbourne Cup winners and our finances mixed up – who was surprised?  We weren’t and we suspect most probably weren’t.  Everyone has a view on how this will impact property and prices and number of buyers in the market – but the flip side of such a rate rise is a good indication that the economy is well and truly on the mend.  Business is doing well and people have jobs – a much better position all round than was predicted same time last year.

 Here at Cunninghams Property we set ourselves what we thought was a fairly formidable goal – 30 properties in 30 days.  We finished the month with 32 sales making October our most successful month on record.  Interestingly, our average sale price is now just below $1 million dollars, considerably lower than in the July/August time frame.  This might surprise some but we see this as good news – it’s a strong reflection of a stable market – for buyers and sellers alike where a good mix of properties are being sold across all price ranges instead of an abundance of first home buyer units as it was in the first quarter of the year (where the average was a low of $750,000) or as it was in July when an abundance of significant family homes were sold.

 In the local press last week there were some comparisons of the median prices of some suburbs – with some considerable differences and seemingly alarming ‘drops’ in some suburbs.  This information was based on the Australian Property Monitor quarterly house price series report.  Having been firmly established in the area for over 18 years, we’re always wary of marking short term comparisons of results and sales prices as this doesn’t give a true indication of the market.  This sort of information can leave both buyers and sellers confused and uncertain.   Whether you are a buyer or seller in today’s market, be cognizant of the broader picture and other factors at work.  Median prices regularly rise and fall however the real picture shows a rationale behind every set of figures.

 Earlier this year, the first home buyers market was totally dominant and in the months following there was a strong flow on effect to 2^nd, 3^rd and 4^th tier buyers and then months where there was a shortage of stock for 1^st home buyers.  When studying quarterly data in isolation, the bigger picture is missing.  At Cunninghams, we’re thrilled with our results for this month and the momentum we have achieved this year.  Our results are up by more than 40% on the same time last year and our median price has risen by approximately 10%.  Activity is up, the economy is on the up (unfortunately so are interest rates) and the market is balanced.  Ride out the bumps and look at the bigger picture – we have done this for a long time and haven’t been proven wrong yet.