The year that defied the sceptics
Firstly, allow me to wish you a very happy New Year if I haven’t already done so. I hope you are enjoying a relaxing and enjoyable break and looking forward to a year with far more positive moments and less challenges than the year we have just left behind.
Having said that, I thought this would be the ideal opportunity to look back over the past twelve months, with a particular focus on the property market, so see what lessons can be learned as well as using it as a base to look towards the future.
Perhaps the biggest lesson we can take on board is that things are rarely as bad as some sections of the media would have us believe. If you look back to this time last year, so many so-called “experts” were forecasting doom and gloom for the property market. Yet despite the challenges of multiple lockdowns along with restrictions on local travel and property inspections, the property market forged ahead with a real sense of momentum throughout the year.
At a national level, the latest data from Corelogic shows that the estimated value of residential real estate in Australia rose from $7.2 trillion at the end of November 2020, to reach a record high of $9.4 trillion in the space of just 12 months.
Not only did dwelling values increase nationally by 22.2 percent in the 12 months to November 2021, the highest increase since 1989, but this spike was achieved in a market where sales volumes reached their highest figure in close to 18 years, with over 614,000 property sales being recorded.
That’s quite a double-act in an economy with so much uncertainty, which says a lot about the underlying confidence in property in most Australian’s minds.
Indeed, our team at Barry Plant Moonee Valley was still negotiating several strong property sales on Christmas Eve, and with so many buyers still yet to secure their next home before the end of the year, all the signs are indicating that the property market in Moonee Valley is likely to resume its strong activity levels as soon as our doors reopen on Tuesday January 4th.
With this in mind, we believe that there is a tremendous opportunity for anyone planning on selling in 2022 to achieve an outstanding result by hitting the market early in January. So if you would like to discuss your options, give us a call this week at Barry Plant Moonee Valley on 9373 0000.
Cheers,
Bill Karp
Director – Barry Plant Real Estate
Essendon, Keilor East & Gladstone Park