Acreage Market Wrap - 13th June 2020

Hi, my name is Greg Vincent and welcome to this week’s Acreage Market Wrap where I share an insight into How’s The Acreage Market?

Tim Lawless from CoreLogic reported this week that “Consumer sentiment is back to pre-crisis levels according to Westpac. The r'ship between home sales and sentiment has historically been strong, suggesting we should see a further rise in market activity, following a near 20% bounce in home sales through May (off a low April base)”

Plus in an exclusive article, John McGrath reported earlier this week, that Winter is a good time to be selling during a resilient market.

“All the latest pricing data indicates only a small hit to the property market from Covid-19 so far, and it looks like we could be entering a window where buyers priced out six months ago now have an opportunity to get in; plus, with interest rates as low as 2.19 per cent fixed for two years, when compared to the fixed rates of 9 per cent that we experienced during the GFC, acreage right now has become more affordable.

First home buyers, who are looking past the pandemic have been buying enthusiastically with the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme for the 2020 financial year already ‘sold out’.

Of the 10,000 deposit guarantees reserved, about 3,100 were in NSW and another 10,000 guarantees will become available from the 1st of July.

Last week, we learned that GDP for the March quarter fell by -0.3%. It was a big headline because it was only the 4th negative quarter during 29 consecutive years of growth.

But compare this to the rest of the world: -9.8 per cent in China, -5.3 per cent in France, -2.2 per cent in Germany, -2 per cent in UK and -1.3 per cent in the US.

A technical recession might be inevitable but Australia is in a relatively good position.

The banks and governments are providing good support and from an economic perspective, we should take heart in our progress so far.

The Treasurer, Josh Frydenberg said: “The fact that the Australian economy only contracted by -0.3% shows its remarkable resilience.”

RBA Governor, Philip Lowe recently stated that “it’s entirely possible that the economic downturn will not be as severe as earlier thought.”

...and today, the NSW Government announced that “Sydney will need 1 million more homes by 2041 and housing will need to adapt to significant but uneven population growth, climate change and diverse family living arrangements.

The Berejiklian government will deliver the state's first housing strategy to shape how and where NSW residents will live over the next two decades.

Greater Sydney is expected to reach a population of about 7 million by 2041 as a result of births and the arrival of skilled migrants and international students, government estimates show.”

So as predicted, after years of waiting, it finally looks like an announcement that several precincts within the North West Growth Centre are being released for development will happen very soon to help accomodate Sydney’s urban sprawl.

The release of these housing precincts will have a positive impact on the local economy as well as the acreage market, but, unless the NSW Government fast-tracks the announcement to release these precincts, the subdivided land won’t be made available in time to be of any significant benefit to the HomeBuilder scheme.

Speaking of the HomeBuilder scheme, several acreage buyers have asked me about if they buy a property could they use the $25,000 HomeBuilder stimulus package to do renovations. The answer is ‘Yes’ however, for a renovation to be eligible, it will have to cost between $150,000 and $750,000, which could help to improve the amenity, decor and size of an acreage homestead quite dramatically.

However, there are also other restrictions like the pre-renovation value of the house must not exceed $1.5 million. Sheds, yurts, granny flats, pools, tennis courts and any other structure not attached to the home are apparently not be eligible.

As I mentioned last week, it’s going to be very interesting to see how the HomeBuilder scheme impacts the building industry and how the acreage market plays out over these next six months.

How’s The Acreage Market?

Currently there are 432 acreage properties For Sale across the region, which includes 245 acreage properties For Sale throughout The Hawkesbury, 129 throughout The Hills district and another 58 acreages For Sale within Sydney’s North-West acreage areas of Penrith and Blacktown.

There were 10 new acreage listings come onto the market this week, and there were only 6 acreage properties Sold this week. With some more positives signs that the market is moving in the right direction, as there are currently a further 21 acreage properties ‘Under Contract’ across the region.

Out in the field, there were a lot of buyers out looking at acreages at today’s Open Homes and enquiry numbers were up by approx. 27 per cent on last week’s enquiries.

This week I launched a property at 26 Wavehill Avenue, Windsor Downs where we saw double-digit inspection numbers for the first time this decade.

Next week I’ll be launching a couple of other great properties which are both scheduled to go to auction on the 11th of July.

Finally, just a quick reminder that if you want to see what’s really going on in the market make sure to follow the #OZpropertyAlive hashtag.

Also, if you’d like to get early access to any of my acreage listings or find out more about the ‘Off-Market Acres’ properties that I currently have available, simply register at www.OffMarketAcres.com.au

So, that’s it for this week’s Acreage Market Wrap.

If you’ve got any questions about anything I’ve shared this week or would like to discuss any of your acreage plans with me, don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Thanks for watching, stay safe and bye for now.

Regards

Greg Vincent