Declining home values present opportunities to buyers

Conditions in the residential property market seem to be looking somewhat brighter for would-be buyers at present. In addition to the Reserve Bank of Australia electing to keep interest rates on hold at 4.75 per cent for at least another month rather than moving to increase them, the latest RP Data-Rismark Home Value Index showed a decline in property prices over May.

Combined, these factors could help to provide Australian property buyers with increasingly affordable purchase options.

The Index, which is based on more than 110,000 homes sales nationally in 2011, saw capital city values decline by 0.3 per cent (seasonally adjusted) over the month of May, resulting in five continuous months of retracting prices. The brunt of the decline occurred in January when values fell by 1.2 per cent, which accounted for 45 per cent of the 2011 decrease.

Over the 12 months to May, the Index showed that capital city dwelling prices have dropped by 2.3 per cent (seasonally adjusted).

As predicted by Century 21, the Sydney market has seen modest growth in the 12 months to May 2011, with home values up by 1.0 per cent, according to the Index.

The RP Data-Rismark Home Value Index also showed an improvement in gross apartment rental yields which rose to 5.0 per cent over May. It found that the best yields could be seen in Darwin (5.7 per cent), Canberra (5.4 per cent), Brisbane (5.2 per cent) and Sydney (5.2 per cent).

According to Charles Tarbey, the Chairman and Owner of Century 21 Australia, the decline in prices seen in the Index could be helpful to many Australian home buyers.

"After a number of years of tremendous growth in property values, the market appears to be showing a cyclical price correction, which could bode well for Australian buyers grappling with affordability concerns," said Charles Tarbey.

"Despite the caution from purchasers we are seeing in the marketplace, these conditions seem to provide both home buyers and investors with increasingly affordable purchase options," continued Charles Tarbey.

"With the added incentive of increasing rental yields, investing in this market could prove to be a very fortuitous purchase decision," concluded Charles Tarbey.

For advice regarding property prices and purchase options in your area, please feel free to drop into one of the many Century 21 offices situated around Australia to talk to a Century 21 real estate agent.


Disclaimer: The opinions posted within this blog are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of CENTURY 21 Australia, others employed by CENTURY 21 Australia or the organisations with which the network is affiliated. The author takes full responsibility for his opinions and does not hold CENTURY 21 or any third party responsible for anything in the posted content. The author freely admits that his views may not be the same as those of his colleagues, or third parties associated with the CENTURY 21 Australia network.