Top 10 danger zones of 2020 - Gosford ranks #1

The National Cabinet’s decision to place a ban on on-site and in-room auctions had little impact on the inner west, with the region recording the best clearance rate in Sydney. CoreLogic reports that the inner west scored a 68 per cent clearance rate with 51 out of 75 properties selling on the day or prior to it. Despite the clearance rate being 10 per cent down from last week, it was still 21 per cent above the Sydney-wide score of 47.3 per cent. The region was also 11 per cent ahead of Ryde, which was the second best area in Sydney with a 57.1 per cent clearance rate. In Marrickville, a four-bedroom home sold via online auction to a family who viewed the property just four hours before it went under the hammer. The family went up against three other buyers for 15 Tamar St, Marrickville, which was broadcasted via Auctionslive, with Richardson and Wrench Marrickville staff on phones to bidders as back-up in case of any technology glitches. The competitive auction saw the home sell for $15,000 above the reserve at $1.515 million. Richardson and Wrench Principal Aris Dendrinos, said it was a difficult decision whether to move to a private treaty sale, but the vendor was determined to proceed with an online auction. “We had a lively auction that was kind of weird exciting, a vendor who was prepared to meet the market if necessary, and enough competition to produce a strong sale,” he said. A bidding frenzy from eight registered bidders saw a quintessential Newtown semi sell for $85,000 above reserve. After the opening bid of $1.15 million, more than 90 bids were traded between four active buyers, before a young single male landed the knock out blow of $1.415 million. Ray White Surry Hills director Shaun Stoker said despite the auction not taking place on-site at 88 Darley St, it was highly competitive. “We’d carried out dry-runs for a few hours on Thursday and Friday to ensure our bidders and buyers had a smooth and seamless experience and that certainly paid off today,” he said. Source:x Coronavirus real estate: Inner west market fires o... It was business as usual for the inner west during the first weekend of online auctions, with the region scoring a clearance rate 21 per cent higher than Sydney as a whole. www.realestate.com.au

Mortgages and borrowing will be the cheapest in Australian history with the Reserve Bank to take the unprecedented step of cutting interest rates twice in a month to a rock bottom 0.25 per cent. The RBA was expected to act on Thursday to slash the official cash rate to 0.25 per cent, just two weeks after cutting to 0.5 per cent. The measure was expected to be coincide with bond buying an unprecedented move as officials work to shore up the Australian economy in widespread coronavirus fallout. RBA Governor Philip Lowe is set to give a speech out of the Reserve Bank in Sydney at 4pm on Thursday. CBA senior economist Gareth Aird expected RBA to cut the cash to “the effective-lower-bound of 0.25 per cent on Thursday” and put in place bond-buying and other measures to make borrowing cheaper. According to RateCity.com.au analysis the average mortgage holder with a $400,000 loan could save as much as $55 a month off minimum monthly mortgage repayments if there was a cut to 0.25 per cent cut passed on by lenders. RateCity.com.au research director Sally Tindall said many Aussies were ahead on their mortgages because banks kept their repayments the same when interest rates were cut. “This is money some people can potentially access through their redraw, should they find themselves in a tight financial position,” she said. “If interest rates are cut again, some mortgage holders may want to rethink what they do with the savings.” Read more:x Cheapest mortgages in history for Aussie homeowner... Mortgages and borrowing will be the cheapest in Australian history with the Reserve Bank to take the unprecedented step of cutting interest rates twice in a month to a rock bottom 0.25 per cent. www.realestate.com.au

BONDI or Manly might be what the world thinks of when it comes to living in Sydney but locals who actually want the Australian dream of a family home with a backyard go to one place — Baulkham Hills. The suburb, which is split between the Hills Shire and Parramatta councils, was the most popular area in the country for families wanting four-bedroom houses. It was also the most coveted location for buyers of all house types in the Greater Western Sydney area, with buyer demand nearly doubling since 2019, according to a realestate.com.au measure of online search activity. Adjacent suburbs North Rocks, Winston Hills, Kings Langley and Castle Hill rounded out the top five most viewed suburbs more than 15km west of the CBD. “Baulkham Hills is off the charts right now,” realestate.com.au chief economist Nerida Conisbee said. “It’s always been popular with families but now it’s huge.” The increased interest in the northwest coincided with the opening of the Sydney Metro Northwest train line in May last year. The line connects much of the region to Sydney’s north shore and beyond. Housing experts said the region’s increased popularity was also due to its proximity to Sydney’s second CBD at Parramatta — and the big houses on large blocks. Additional Australian Post Office data revealed the region accounted for the bulk of suburbs with the most requests to redirect mail from newly moved NSW families and households between 2013 and 2019. Kellyville residents used the most redirect services, followed by Castle Hill, Port Macquarie, Mosman and Baulkham Hills. One of the biggest contributors to Kellyville’s growth was the North Kellyville housing estate, which effectively doubled the size of the suburb. MOST REQUESTS FOR RE-DIRECT MAIL SERVICE 2013-2019 Kellyville Castle Hill Port Macquarie Mosman Baulkham Hills Source:x Most popular suburbs for big house buyers: Baulkha... Demand has shot through the roof in one area of Sydney, which is now the most popular location in the country for those seeking a four-bedroom house with a backyard. www.realestate.com.au

Sydney house prices have recently seen a strong resurgence, and experts say that this could mean a boom is heading to the Central Coast. Last week CoreLogic data showed that Sydney’s house prices had increased by more than 10 per cent in 12 months, bringing the median house price back over $1 million. According to a recent property update from Realestate.com, the Central Coast and Illawarra, both on the outskirts of Sydney, are currently showing the highest views per listing of all regional areas around Australia. Realestate.com’s Chief Economist Nerida Conisbee suggests that Sydney’s boom could be moving up to the coast, with market changes traditionally flowing into the area. “Given the blistering pace at which Sydney house prices are moving, this suggests that this strong level of growth will soon reach places like Wollongong and Central Coast beaches,” she said. “The prestigious beach suburbs are usually the first places that Sydney buyers look, but as time goes on and people get priced out of these markets, they’ll start looking in cheaper areas.” The most in-demand areas for houses over the past six months on the Central Coast are the beaches, with the popular little enclave of North Avoca topping the list. Macmasters Beach, Avoca Beach, Bateau Bay and Wamberal also made the top five. Local couple Mark and Eliesha Starkey and their four kids are selling their renovated acreage at 5 Warrambool Rd, Wamberal. Mrs Starkey said that now seemed like the right time to list. Source:x Central Coast property market tipped to boom after... Experts are tipping a resurgence in the Central Coast property market coming off the back of the Sydney boom, with several beach suburbs in high demand. www.realestate.com.au

Homes in Sydney’s inner west and northern beaches have become Australia’s most fiercely contested properties as a record listings slump turns the heat on buyers. The regions together accounted for six of the nation’s 10 most competitive suburbs to buy property over the past three months, measured by the extent demand outweighed supply. The increased competition put the squeeze on buyers, forcing them to increase their price offers to beat out rival home seekers. The inner west median property price surged 16 per cent over the past year, while on the northern beaches the increase was 13 per cent, representing rises of more than $100,000 in what were already some of the country’s most expensive markets. Inner west hub Newtown was the nation’s most in demand suburb to buy a house, while northern beaches enclave Collaroy was the top draw for unit buyers. Listings in these areas were down more than a quarter from last year while the number of buyers actively for looking homes tripled, according to the realestate.com.au data. The buyer surge followed three interest rate cuts late last year, with the Reserve Bank of Australia announcing another cash rate cut earlier this week. Other increasingly popular suburbs – and where buyers were scrambling for a depleted pool of properties – were Stanmore, Annandale and Lilyfield in the inner west and Beacon Hill and North Narrabeen on the northern beaches. Read more:x Australia’s most popular suburbs: Newtown and Co... A once working class suburb now famed for its cafes and bar scene has become Australia’s most in-demand suburb for house buyers, with a Sydney beach suburb the top choice of unit buyers. www.realestate.com.au

After months of decline, the Sydney property market is expected to see significant growth moving forward. Should investors jump back into the NSW capital this year? Sydney, Lisbon and Moscow are the only other cities in the Savills World Cities Prime Residential Index that are predicted to see growth between 6 per cent and 7.9 per cent over the next 12 months. In contrast, the average growth forecast across all 27 global cities analysed in the report sits at a median 1.8 per cent. Despite residential real estate in Australia and the Asia-Pacific region generally remaining sensitive to global uncertainty, lower interest rates, increasing immigration and continued increases to demand allowed Sydney to recover from the recent downturn and ultimately be poised for above-average growth. While Savills noted that the ongoing bushfires may be a near-term mitigating factor for the wider market as the impact on national GDP growth is felt, “this is not expected to weaken capital city price growth for middle- to upper-priced detached housing or market sentiment”. In fact, Savills Australia’s residential director Chris Orr said that luxury property in Sydney’s key markets have already bounced back. “Sydney overall has recovered anywhere from 5 to 7 per cent in blue-chip areas; however, there are still some local markets where there is an oversupply of apartments, which has negatively impacted prices,” Mr Orr said Australia, as a whole, is considered a growth market at the moment, given our recent financial regulations having changed for the better.” According to Mozo property expert Steve Jovcevski, the good times will continue for property investors in 2020 as the market regains its losses from the previous years and strong momentum ultimately tips to drive markets moving forward. Research suggests that overall capital city property values are likely to increase by around 5-7 per cent in 2020, with Melbourne and Sydney leading the charge at 10 per cent growth in value over the year. Sydney, in particular, carries strong momentum from the end of the year, with a value growth of 2.7 per cent in the month of November alone. Read more:x Property market update: Sydney, January 2020 After months of decline, the Sydney property market is expected to see significant growth moving forward. Should investors jump back into the NSW capital this year? www.smartpropertyinvestment.com.au