Nerida Conisbee
Ray White Group
Chief Economist
There was no rate cut last week but with markets now pricing in two cuts this year, it seems to be enough to drive demand for property. Property inspections are high, listing authorities are showing that more people are coming to market and weekly pricing is showing that Australian house prices are rising quickly as a result.
Open home attendance wasn’t a great measure during COVID-19 given restrictions but is now providing a good measure of interest. Ray White tracks on average the number of visitors to 40,000 open homes per month. January was a strong month with 16.5 visitors per home, above the three year average of 15.6.
Significantly, the markets experiencing the most visitation were South Australia and Queensland, both of which are currently seeing strong price growth. South Australia hit 25.3 visitors per open home, the highest on record. Queensland reached 18.6 visitors, the highest number in two years.
Is this fast start leading more people to sell their properties? Ray White listing authorities give us some insight as to what the pipeline of properties is looking like. Listing authorities track the point at which a Ray White agent is signed to sell a property but is yet to be advertised. The year has started a lot stronger than both 2022 and 2023, suggesting that an uplift in buyer demand is leading to more sellers coming to market.
Nerida Conisbee Ray White Group Chief Economist Interest rates, house prices, market cycles dominate headlines and conversations about Australia’s housing market, but they miss the bigger picture. For decades, our housing market has been driven by much deeper forces: a persistent undersupply of homes, major demographic shifts, and fundamental changes in how … Read more
Nerida Conisbee, Ray White Chief Economist What does the US-China tariff battle mean for Australia? US tariffs on Chinese imports began on February 4, with a 10 per cent duty imposed on all goods. China immediately hit back with their own tariffs, placing 15 per cent on coal and liquefied … Read more