Gladstone Property Sales Final Quarter Report for 2016

Welcome to our final Quarterly Property Report wrapping up 2016. Happy New Year from all of us here at REMAX Gold Gladstone. We hope 2017 is a great year for you and your loved ones.

One of the complimentary services we provide our valued clients and customers with each quarter, are sales reports for the suburbs you may be living in, have investment property located in, or are considering selling or purchasing a property in. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t want to know what’s going on around their property or in our local market, so I hope you find these reports informative. Even if you’re not looking to make a move anytime soon, keep these reports saved somewhere handy so when the time does come, you’ll have a complete picture of how your suburb has been performing in the meantime. If you would like to receive these reports, send me your details with "Reports Please" in the enquiry section, via this link: https://remax-gold.com.au/contact-us

In 2017, we are looking forward to a year of consolidation in the Gladstone Property Market as all the signs of have presented themselves over the last half of 2016, to pointing toward our property market having reached or very nearly reached, the bottom of this very testing cycle. With the decline beginning in the latter stages of 2012, I think we can all agree that we will be glad to see some stability return to property prices and rental returns. It will be a very steady recovery in our opinion and as we saw in the last half of 2016, buyer confidence (particularly in the first homebuyer sector) returned quite convincingly. This has been evident in the sub $250,000 price bracket where stock levels have shortened considerably during this period. Talking to more and more younger buyers, they are scrambling to get deposits together while property remains so affordable and interest rates are the most affordable seen in history. It’s been interesting to listen to rhetoric in regard to opinions on property prices holding or remaining low, yet a lot of people are not considering the effects an interest rate rise has to the overall cost of a property purchase. First homebuyers and Gladstone locals who are taking the opportunity to upgrade into what might have been an unattainable dream not so long ago are seeing the huge opportunities sitting in front of them right now, and acting. If there’s one thing I have seen time and time again in Gladstone, it’s people holding out to see if they can pick the bottom of a market or thinking they have plenty of time up their sleeve to buy, then missing it altogether and getting caught out – by prices starting to rise or interest rates going up and their lending capacity going down. Markets take time to find their bottom in general (ours has been in one of its longest now at over four years) but anyone who has lived in Gladstone long enough to see a few of these cycles, knows that it historically hasn’t taken very long for a $200,000 property to become a $300,000 property.

The unit and land markets were also very tough markets not just for the quarter, but the year. With rental returns taking huge hits in tandem with vacancy rates as high as 11%, pricing followed suit in the unit market along with investor interest. Sale numbers were well down again in 2016. As we came into the last half of 2016, tenants were recognising that rents had slowed up from the preceding free-fall and that they weren’t going to get much cheaper, resulting in tenancy agreements being locked in for longer periods and the expectation that those prices may start to increase slightly through 2017. With vacancy rates tightening quite considerably across the region, landlords will be breathing some sighs of relief as some positive signs return to the rental market.

The very low volume of land sales is fairly easy to translate. While there is such spectacular value for money buying available in the established home market, for newer and older homes, the cost of building isn’t viable or attractive to the current buyer market. Unfortunately, even with the first homebuyers grant of $20,000 applied to new home builds, first homebuyers just aren’t in the price bracket it costs to build. Secondly, Gladstone is still oversupplied with new homes and vacant land, and while the demand has remained low, sales numbers followed suit. Disappointing for our local builders for sure.

So the key to all of this? If you’re looking to buy, thinking of buying or still saving that deposit to buy, then the VALUE FOR MONEY opportunities in Gladstone are at the best we have seen them. Coupled with these crazily low interest rates, this is one buying cycle that you would be absolutely mad to miss. If you’re selling, listen to your agent’s feedback in terms of pricing, to grab the serious buyers out there, ready to buy right now. They are there but they also know what else is on the market and if your comparable property doesn’t compare in the price domain, you may as well take it off the market. If you are thinking of coming to market and selling, reread the last two sentences and make sure you choose and agent who truly understands our market and is there to work for YOU, not their own pocket. And remember this piece of golden advice: GREAT Agents Aren’t Cheap. CHEAP Agents Aren’t Great.

Of course if you are contemplating selling at any stage, Team McLeod’s Shane McLeod and Renel Stander, are able to provide you with a Comparative Market Analysis, specific to your property which will give you a more clear direction of how you property is placed in terms of current market value, in the Gladstone Region at that time. If you are considering your options, whether selling or buying, please contact either of us, to arrange an appointment to discuss your needs and provide you with a professional, no obligation report, along with a selling strategy our hundreds of clients have benefitted from over the last fourteen years, in the Gladstone Region. If you have any questions at all, please don’t hesitate to get in touch via our details here: https://remax-gold.com.au/Team-McLeod. Have a great week.

Access your FREE QUARTERLY SUBURB REPORTS by clicking on this link or copying into your web browser: https://rem.ax/2i0hUQ6

Regards,

Shane McLeod 0413331945 & Renel Stander 0417110551

RE/MAX Gold Gladstone

www.remax-gold.com.au

Like us on Facebook: REMAX Gold Gladstone

PS: As a valued REMAX Gold Gladstone customer member, we can also offer you up to 90 days FREE cover insurance on any property you purchase, whether you purchase a home through our office or not, and also access to a FREE loan and insurance review service through our REMAX partnered mortgage broker, Tim Denton, at Australian Property Finance. Tim has access to over 30 lenders, including the big four, and hundreds of loan products to find you the best deal for your circumstances. Give Tim a call on 0439 507 814 and let him know you're dealing with us. Having finances sorted before you find that perfect property can save you a lot of time, money and potential heartache if you're not organised in our experience.