I have to say that I am feeling positive about the year ahead for the property market in the City of Hume. If the past year has taught us anything about the Melbourne property market, it’s that there is a high degree of underlying resilience that can’t be overlooked

Let’s face it, if someone had told us at this time last year that we would see a further five increases to official interest rates by the Reserve Bank in 2023, (after eight rises in 2022), not to mention the cost of living challenges that so many of us have dealt with during the year, many people would have adopted a fairly pessimistic outlook at that time. Yet the data shows that property prices have recorded slow but steady growth over the past twelve months despite these challenges.

As I have shared before, much of this growth has been due to the ongoing shortage of properties for sale across Victoria, resulting in some serious competition between buyers for the available stock, particularly the better quality homes in all areas and price ranges. What is important to remember as we look ahead is that there are no signs that this shortage of stock for sale is going to ease in 2024. Certainly not in the early part of the year at least.

We are also expecting the outlook on interest rates to grow more positive throughout the coming year, with the conversations about “how high interest rates will go” to increasingly become “how soon interest rates will start dropping again”.

With this in mind, we believe that there are lots of reasons for optimism for anyone planning on making a move in 2024, particularly those who want to ‘seize the day’ by getting their own property on the market early in January.

So if you would like to discuss your options, our team at Barry Plant Gladstone Park will be back on deck from January 3rd, so don’t hesitate to give us a call on 9330 1088.

In the meantime, enjoy your celebrations and stay safe.

Regards,

Bill Karp - Director

Barry Plant Real Estate

Gladstone Park