Monash property ‘hangover’ set to end
There are positive signs for buyers and sellers that Monash’s property market is emerging from the downturn.
A shortage of homes on the market has been frustrating buyers and sellers across the City of Monash for months now.
But there is a silver lining, according to Barry Plant Mt Waverley director Robert Namour. With more buyers starting to enter the market, those who do decide to sell stand to sell well.
“There’s a benefit for those who are coming on to the market because they’ll find less competition from other sellers and a genuine increased interest from buyers.”
Auctioneer Mario Munafo has also seen first hand the shift in the Monash market over the past few months, with four to six bidders becoming commonplace at auctions.
He sold a new four-bedroom townhouse on a subdivided corner block at 137 Stephensons Rd, Mt Waverley, for $1.12 million on August 5.
“We had four or five bidders on the day, despite the property’s main road position,” he says.
Another four bidders contested the June 22 auction for the three-bedroom townhouse at 1/52 Virginia St, Mt Waverley, resulting in a $1.29 million sale under the hammer.
Mr Namour says those with quality properties stand to reap the biggest rewards, with the stock shortage most evident at the top end.
“If you take Mt Waverley, there has been only a very small handful of properties this year sell for over the $2 million mark,” he says.
They include the five-bedroom house at 7 Annesley Court in Mt Waverley, which sold for an impressive $2.15 million on June 26.
The renovated property on an unusually large 1165sq m block with a pool was snapped up in the days after it was passed in at auction.
The stock shortage is not unique to Monash. It is being felt across Melbourne, with latest CoreLogic figures showing new listings are down about 30 per cent on the same time last year.
Mr Namour says Monash is “suffering a bit of a hangover” after the heady days of 2013-15 when Chinese buyers with a desire to enjoy the area’s schools, transport and recreation created “a market we’ve never had before” and sent prices skyrocketing.
The brakes were applied on the booming market when the financial services regulator, APRA, tightened the screws on lending and the banking royal commission was launched.
With finance harder to secure, buyers started to dry up. And when sellers realised they weren’t getting the same high prices, they stopped listing.
Mr Namour says that while the Monash market is still recovering from the downturn, there have been positive signs since the federal election, the recent loosening of lending restrictions and consecutive interest rate cuts.
Along with the increase in bidders, phone and internet inquiries, auction clearance rates and open for inspection numbers are also on the rise, pointing to growing confidence in the market.
Mr Namour says sellers have also realised they need to be realistic about their asking price, while buyers understand there is no point waiting for a rush of new homes to come on to the market in the short term.
“The market looks to have bottomed out and I’m confident that by this time next year it should show an improvement in pricing,” he says.