Buyers Hungry For Homes

Sellers could be missing out on pocketing tens of thousands of dollars in profit by not putting their homes on the market at a time when buyers are crying out for properties, experts warn.

New research reveals demand for properties in key Greater Brisbane suburbs has more than doubled in the past year, but homeowners are sitting on their hands for fear of not being able to find somewhere else to buy.

Realestate.com.au analysis shows house-hunters are desperate to buy but are struggling to find properties for sale, with listings down some 10 per cent on the same time last year.

Realestate.com.au chief economist Nerida Conisbee said there were “millions more buyers” hunting for homes and prices were rising in line with increased competition, but sellers were missing out on the action.

Ms Conisbee said the increase in buyer demand for these suburbs was linked to a lack of properties available for sale. Brisbane’s auction clearance has surged above 60 per cent — a level not seen in five years.

Ms Conisbee said Queensland was not typically a big auction market, but the rise in the number of homes selling under the hammer was a sign that buyer confidence was high.

“We’re seeing millions more buyers on realestate.com.au, but with a lack of homes on the market, competition is heating up and prices are rising,” she said.

“Now is a good time to go to auction.”

REA Group executive manager of economic research Cameron Kusher said there was “no really good reason why sellers should be sitting on their hands”.

“I think some people are not convinced the market is as strong as it actually is, and I think the other thing is because there’s not a lot of stock listed for sale, there’s probably some concern that if they were to put their propety on the market, they’d sell it, but there would be nothing there for them to actually purchase,” Mr Kusher said.

“There’s clearly been a jump in people actively looking to buy properties and still not enough stock on the market, so it’s a good time to sell.”

Mr Kusher said the most in-demand suburbs in Brisbane from a buyer’s perspective were in the city’s more established, inner and middle ring suburbs.

“If you’ve got a good property in a sought-after location, you’re probably going to get a pretty big price for it at the moment,” he said.

“Particularly in these suburbs, we’re going to continue to see price growth while there is an undersupply of stock coming to market.”

The latest figures from SQM Research show listings in Brisbane fell 1.2 per cent in February and are down more than 10 per cent compared with the same time last year.

SQM Research managing director Louis Christopher said it was less a case of sellers sitting on their hands as buyers snapping up stock that had been sitting on the market for months.

“There is still less stock because buyers are swamping the market,” Mr Christopher said.

“These are good selling conditions, but we don’t know how long they’re going to last. “The coronavirus is creating more uncertainty out there.”

Mr Christopher said the two potential risks to the housing market were the reluctance of people to turn up to home inspections and auctions because of the coronavirus, and the possibility of an economic downturn.

GREATER BRISBANE’S MOST IN DEMAND SUBURBS FOR HOUSES – Jan 20

• Barellan Point 1 5956 149 1401
• Windsor 2 5236 9 2916
• Fairfield 3 4914 48 2290
• Wishart 4 4753 6 3084
• Tarragindi 5 4352 30 2594
• Gordon Park 6 4263 29 2603
• Chandler 7 4246 56 2225
• Greenslopes 8 4208 53 2258
• Paddington 9 4179 2 3481
• Holland Park West 10 3961 22 2729

GREATER BRISBANE’S MOST IN DEMAND SUBURBS FOR UNITS – Jan 20

• Fairfield 1 2495 22 912
• New Farm 2 1775 5 1310
• Herston 3 1769 21 931
• Mount Gravatt East 4 1735 23 908
• Red Hill 5 1719 4 1389
• Auchenflower 6 1601 15 991
• Paddington 7 1577 6 1195
• Ashgrove 8 1490 8 1105
• Camp Hill 9 1484 2 1506
• Gordon Park 10 1443 9 1071

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The above information has been sourced from Realestate.com.au. To read the full article CLICK HERE.