Surge fueled by falling interest rates
Australians are rushing into the property market, driving homes well above price guides and sparking fears among some buyers that homeownership is slipping out of reach.
In Austral, southwest of Sydney, a 253-square-metre home recently sold for $1.275 million – a suburb record and more than $200,000 above the area’s median price of $1.05 million. A video posted by Ray White showed more than a dozen bidders at the auction, with buyers eagerly competing for the keys.
Melbourne-based buyer’s agent Emily Wallace told Yahoo Finance that the surge reflects a nationwide trend, fueled by falling interest rates and upcoming changes to the first-home buyer scheme. She noted that properties are increasingly being snapped up before scheduled auction dates.
“Auctions are very well attended, but the more pressing issue is that things are being sold ahead of their auction date, and buyers who aren’t ready are missing out,” Wallace said.
A Yahoo Finance poll of more than 1,000 readers found nearly half – 47 per cent – felt pressured to purchase now to avoid paying significantly more in coming months.
While under-quoting has long been a concern in real estate, Wallace told Yahoo Finance that recent sky-high sales are largely the result of competitive bidding.
“A lot of the cases, it’s that the vendor has a realistic reserve, but it’s the buyers that are driving the price,” she said. “I think it’s definitely more a case of a bit of FOMO creeping in.”
