The Real Estate Institute of Tasmania’s Quarterly Report confirmed that Tasmania’s real estate market has continued to grow in sales numbers and value over the March 2018 quarter.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Following on from a strong 2017, the March quarter of 2018 has continued to experience growth with total sales up 0.6 per cent and an increase of 1.4 per cent in sales value.
Some of the report highlights include:
- House sales in the North-West rose 1.6 per cent for the quarter and 9.4 per cent for the year.
- Hobart experienced an increase of 2.5 per cent for the quarter, with outer Hobart sales rising 7.3 per cent and inner Hobart sales remaining steady.
- Launceston house sales fell 5.4 per cent on the March 2017 quarter.
The Tasmanian median house price increased 0.8 per cent for the quarter and 10.8 per cent on last year.
The Real Estate Institute of Tasmania president, Tony Collidge has described the North and North West markets as ‘strong’ but not without its difficulties for renters and first time buyers.
“Recent increases in property prices reflect positive improvement in our local economy, consumer confidence, and jobs growth,” he said.
“The level of activity within the current market suggests that there will be no relief from rising prices or rents in the immediate future.
“The situation we now find ourselves in is becoming acute.
“With a growing population, the influx of university students, booming tourism market, and increased social housing demand the States’ ability to service all these housing and accommodation needs is near (if not at) breaking point.
"The process to overcome this situation needs to be thoroughly and well thought out,” Tony said.
"Involving resource planning, expedient development, and a planning scheme which encourages and doesn’t hinder people with options and red tape. It needs people to act and resolve the issues which prevent us from achieving sustainable growth.”
While the market is strong, several factors have been affecting buyers and the market in 2018.
“While Launceston has experienced record house sales in 2017, its best year in more than a decade, the stock is very tight, and agents are finding it hard to get listings,” he said.
“There is also a lot of investment activity happening, Launceston is the investment capital of Tasmania and has more rental properties per dwelling than any other part of the state.
“As we would expect with the number of properties on the market shrinking, there has been an increase in land sales, increasing by 35.7 per cent from last year.
With this and the rental shortages, Tony explained that it could be a tough market for first home buyers, but it's not all bad news.
“North West market is strong, Burnie, Ulverstone and Devonport have all seen increases in their median house prices,” Tony said.
“Devonport has been one of the booming sectors and has seen the most selling activity over four or five years.
“For first home buyers the North West Coast and Launceston are still very affordable on Australian standards, if you line them up against other capital cities, they are affordable.
“Where we come into difficulty is the wages and the jobs; however the improvement in the real estate market over the last six months is a reflection of an improvement on the economic conditions in the North and North West regions.”
With a strong market many people will be looking for the opportunity to sell and possibly downsize, looking at the market trends, Tony believes that its a great time to sell.
“It is a good time to be selling and if you’ve been thinking about it now is the time, as we move into next year we might see things in the market change,” he said.
“Hobart has almost peaked, and Launceston and the North West Coast are about three years behind in terms of market trends.
“I’m not saying it will continue for three years but we have a good 12 months or more of activity in those regions and let's face it they are some of the most beautiful parts of the state.”
Your Guide To Real Estate is available to read online here and includes suburb profiles, property news and top tips.