Ray White Eight Mile Plains

The most recent announcement to impact the property market was the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority’s (APRA) move to restrict lending through increasing the interest rate buffer. The buffer, which acts as a stress test for borrowers, has increased from 2.5% to 3%. This means that when assessing capacity to pay, banks must now look at whether that borrower can pay a loan at 3% more than the current mortgage rate. While these new restrictions are unlikely to lead to much of a hit on pricing, it is likely that further tightening will be applied if prices continue to rise at a rapid rate. A consideration to make if you’re thinking about selling is that days on market are starting to increase. Buyers are becoming more discerning, perhaps driven by very fast price growth and a subsequent hesitancy. The number of days a property stayed on market hit a record low earlier this year, with homes selling on average in 21 days in March. In September, this rose to 35 days. Of course, lockdowns may have impacted this. Not only did listings drop but so too did buyer activity. As a result, sales times stretched out, without necessarily impacting selling prices. For now, there’s no slow down in competition for property, despite the number of homes for sale beginning to increase. This will continue to flow through to price growth. Summer 2022 is looking good for vendors, primarily because of large numbers of people holding off since June. If you are considering a move, I can help you take advantage of the current conditions to achieve the best possible sales outcome. I invite you to get in touch and experience the Ray White difference for yourself. Ela Milne Licensed Real Estate Agent Elite Sales and Marketing Executive WHAT’S HAPPENING IN OUR MARKET?