So I’ve heard that there has been a bit of media chatter about the Australian property market this week, not sure what that’s all about? We’ve been too busy making sales, loving this weather, after all spring has sprung, the birds are in the trees and the flowers are in bloom…what a beautiful time to live in Sydney?! You see folks, I can be upbeat…I’ve done the work and I’m showing up today all chipper and dandy.
A couple of weeks ago I made mention that we were seeing an increase in deal flow across the market and this has indeed continued, the volume of transactions is still rising as the market has tried to get back on its proverbial feet…sure it might be a little dizzy but it’s still in the fight, that cut above the eye isn’t that bad and you can still see with one eye.
It’s a good analogy actually, the property market this year has had to eat some pretty heavy blows but us Aussies love our homes and we love a good comeback too…sweep the leg Johnny…
Gear change, no clutch.
Something I have been following with great interest is Mosman’s proposed master plan and our government’s valiant mission to increase ‘affordable’ housing (whatever that means). Whilst I personally think that the new plan is better than the old one I also think they are both heavily flawed.
The biggest problem our government has to overcome is the cost of building, which has increased 19% in just the last twelve months and thanks to our rising Australia First movement I wouldn’t bank on any cheap labour anytime soon.
Let’s play this out. Developers are keeping a very keen eye on the current property market to see if they will actually be able to sell these new apartments, which for the record they can’t right now.
We already live in a city that is justifiably cautious of new builds and the strata model as a whole yet this new plan would effectively flood the market with brand new expensive apartments…my question is who’s going to buy them? Guys, the modelling on the mega development on Rangers/Reginald is $2M for a one bedroom apartment…gooood luck with that.
Another thing, I think Alan Kohler is right, young families don’t want to live in apartments, they would rather commute to a decent home with a yard. In addition to this most downsizers don’t want to live in high rises…but that’s exactly what these plans are for.
So it’s unsurprising that many of these proposed developments are now stalling or starting to fall over as they start to read the play, what first smelled like a gold rush now has the aroma of a potential blood bath…opens page to Bathla.
Wouldn’t this government have been better off looking to develop faster trains so that the commute to more space was quicker? Just a thought…and perhaps one that the public would have got behind, again, I am preaching from the book of Kohler here.
Methinks the government’s slogan should have been ‘out not up’?
A developing story as they say, so many puns, so little time.
Feast your eyes on some of the best listings on the North Shore below, hope to see you on the circuit.
Oh and Happy Fathers’ Day dads.
Until next week,
David Murphy