Musings & Interactions
The pages of real estate Domain magazine property advertisements has looked remarkably thin in recent weeks.
This week there were 48 metropolitan residential listings and the week before 51 advertised properties for sale.
Further evidence that vendors are retreating to the hills and withdrawing property from the market.
Property is all about confidence.
Vendors know selling when consumer sentiment is low and the newspapers are full of negative reporting is not the best time to list your property for sale.
Most vendors are sitting on their hands and stock is becoming as tight as a drum
It appears that this is also the global experience.
According to todays Financial times, the numbers of residential properties for sale in the US are at a near record lows.
In the UK stock numbers are at lowest levels since records began 40 years ago.
In the US, Ian Shepherdson, Chief Economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics says “The Fed’s rate hikes will not force current home owners to sell in large numbers because of the popularity of mortgages with fixed rates of interest and the improvements in the quality of mortgage loans.
On top of that, historically low unemployment rates and a shortage of houses for sale are supporting housing demand in most advanced economies.
Innes McFee, an economist at Oxford Economics says that unless there is a rise in unemployment that would create large numbers of forced sellers, the consultancy does not expect significant outright falls in house prices in the majority of markets.
Sound familiar?
Why then in Australia , which has one of the most regulated financial systems in the world do we have headlines saying house prices are going to fall 20%?
Something just does not add up!
Greville Pabst
Property Buyers Agent
Transaction Advisor (Vendors Advocate )
Certified Practising Valuer
You can contact Greville Pabst if buying or selling gpabst@www.grevillepabst.com.au
