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?

I hope you’re enjoying the June long weekend so far.

I was out looking at an acreage property at Kurrajong Heights yesterday and on my way back down the hill along the Bells Line of Road it was so good to see so many cars with campers, caravans, bikes and boats on the back and lots of people heading over the mountain to get away into the regional parts of NSW which have been anxiously waiting for tourist dollars to help drive their local economy.

It’s so good to see so much of Australia starting to get back to business as usual, but we still have to do whatever we can to avoid a second wave. The last thing any of us want to have happen is to end up going back into Lockdown again.

There was a lot that happened this week that will impact the acreage market, and an article in Money mag answered a lot of questions about property, for example, should I buy or should I wait to buy property?... and as property expert Terry Ryder pointed out...

“You should go ahead with plans to buy.”

As Terry said, “I hear people who say they will buy when the market hits the bottom, but this strategy seldom works because no one rings a bell when the bottom of the market is reached.

The data that identifies the bottom of a real estate market doesn't become evident until six to nine months after the event. The best strategy is to get out there and look for suitable properties knowing that you're likely to have a strong hand in negotiations because buyers will be relatively scarce. There is stock available and there'll always be people who want to sell and need to sell.”

Plus, in that same article, the question was asked, What happened to property in the GFC? Is that likely to happen again?

Terry Ryder reminded potential buyers that, “In 2008 when the GFC struck and sharemarkets were dropping, there were a lot of forecasts that real estate would crash.

What actually happened in 2009, according to Australian Bureau of Statistics data, was a rise of 13% and there are other instances where we've had economic crises and stockmarket crashes (such as 1987) when real estate went into a boom stage, with values rising.

There's history of real estate not only being resilient but defying what other markets are doing; it becomes a bit of a safe haven for money when sharemarkets are crashing. In the early 1990s, the last time Australia had a recession, real estate rose - not much but it still did rise on average.”

Also, this week CoreLogic reported that, “Despite the fall, house values this year are still up by 4.2 per cent in Sydney and 1.6 per cent in Melbourne. Over the past 12 months, Sydney values have climbed 15.6 per cent while in Melbourne they are still 12.2 per cent in front. CoreLogic’s head of research, Tim Lawless, said given the headwinds from the pandemic shutdown, the national drop of 0.5 per cent showed the overall property market had performed relatively well.”

Tim Lawless from CoreLogic, also posted on Twitter that “New ‘for sale’ listings are up 22% since bottoming in early May. Total advertised listings are down 3% over the same period, implying a healthy rate of absorption as buyer activity rises in line with improved sentiment. Low inventory is another factor insulating housing values.”

Also this week, there was an “Overwhelming positive response to the Federal Government's HouseBuilder stimulus package across the building industry bodies.”

“Master Builders Australia believes that the Federal Government’s announcement of the HomeBuilder scheme earlier this week will be a massive relief to the 1000s of home builders and tradies around the country.

Key statements from industry bodies were...

* Master Builders Australia said that “It will mean more new homes, more small businesses and jobs are protected"

* "The industry needed a circuit breaker and this HomeBuilder program is very welcome" - reported the Property Council of Australia

* "Stimulating home building activity has been an effective recovery catalyst in past economic shocks" - Housing Industry Association

* "This alleviates the concerns that the REIA had with a scheme that was only assisting new dwellings" - Real Estate Institute of Australia

How the the Federal Government's $25,000 HouseBuilder stimulus package will work at a glance is...

* House owners will need to provide $150,000 of their own money to be eligible for the $25,000 stimulus towards building and renovations

* The HomeBuilder package is expected to cost the tax-payer $688 million

* The plan will be restricted to people on middle incomes and to new homes and major renovations valued between $150,000 to $750,000.

Here’s a link to more information about the $25,000 HouseBuilder stimulus package.

With the HomeBuilder package and the NSW State Government now looking to allocate their funding into “Shovel ready projects” to help stimulate the economy, it’s no surprise that the NSW Government pulled out of upgrading ANZ Stadium (especially with the current uncertainty surrounding holding large events) and they’ve quickly turned their attention to joining with the Federal Government in announcing that construction will begin this year on a metro line linking the new Western Sydney airport and St Marys railway station, after a $3.5 billion injection into the $11 billion project.

This rail link will eventually connect the airport with the existing Sydney Metro and will run through Marsden Park, along Schofields Road and integrate with the existing end of the metro line at Tallawong Station.

In the coming weeks or months, I predict that the State Government are going to have to come out and announce the rezoning of some of the remaining precincts within the North West Growth Centre like Marsden Park North precinct and West Schofields precinct if they want to have land available to build the new homes to cater for Sydney’s population growth along with the increased injection into new home construction off the back of the HomeBuilder stimulus.

The good news for those who have been waiting for the rezoning is that the shortage of ‘shovel ready’ land available to develop may mean better prices for vacant land which could also mean that developers can afford to offer more per acre for englobo land.

With the NSW Government postponing their budget until December, over the coming months I think we'll also hear a lot more announcements about other local projects like the construction of Rouse Hill hospital, the location of the proposed M9 corridor as well as the proposed 2nd river crossing at North Richmond. One thing's for sure, it will be very interesting to see how this next six months is going to play out.

How’s The Acreage Market?

Currently there are 431 acreage properties For Sale across the region (that’s 6 fewer than last week and 19 less than there were at the start of May). The total number of acreages available includes 244 acreage properties For Sale throughout The Hawkesbury, 128 in The Hills area and another 59 acreages For Sale within Sydney’s North-West acreage areas of Penrith and Blacktown.
There were a total of 19 new acreage listings hit the market this week, and there was another 8 acreage properties Sold this week. Plus, currently there are 19 acreage properties ‘Under Contract’ across the region.

Out in the field, I’ve seen an increase in acreage buyers looking to invest in developable land or land bank opportunities. Plus, there’s been an increase in buyers travelling out from the city suburbs who have reassessed their urban lifestyle and are now looking for a tree-change.

Despite it being a long weekend, there were a good number of buyers out looking today. One of the homes in Windsor Downs had more people through it than I’d seen in the past 5 weeks.

Plus, this week I listed another couple of properties which are both scheduled to go to auction early next month.

One of them is an outstanding acreage property in an elite part of Londonderry and it’s perfectly suited for horses, trucks, land bank investment or just simply enjoying a quality home in a great location.

The other place, isn’t on acres, but rather it has an uninterrupted outlook over acreage and is conveniently located in a highly sought after part of Windsor (in the top end of town) and overlooks Tebbuts Observatory. If you’re used to living on acres and want to downsize and move closer into town (within walking distance of Windsor shops & cafes), and still have the feeling of an acreage lifestyle without all the maintenance then make sure you keep an eye out for this place.

We’ve already had some strong interest in the ‘Off-Market Acres’ listing at 114 Fisher Road, Maraylya that we launched last week. It’s currently still available but if you’re after a nice ranch-style homestead on 5 ridgetop acres with no flooding or power line easements then make sure to get in touch to book an inspection. It’s excellent value for money with a price guide of $1.65m - $1.75m.

Plus, I’ve had several buyers through a couple of the acreage properties that are currently available ‘Off-Market’ in Windsor Downs this week. Behind-the-scenes there’s a lot more buyer activity going on than the Fake News headlines may lead many to believe.

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 know more about the ‘Off-Market Acres’ properties I mentioned or get early access to all of my ‘Off-Market Acres’ properties, simply register at www.OffMarketAcres.com.au

Lastly, I’m currently waiting on the final proof to come back on The Acreage Report 2020 (Winter edition) which includes a special Post-COVID-19 report about how the acreage market is likely to be impacted moving forward.

If you’d like to be amongst the first to get your hands on this special Post-COVID-19 acreage report, then simply register at www.TheAcreageReport.com.au or alternatively, when you register for ‘Off-Market Acres’ you’ll also immediately receive access to the previous edition of The Acreage Report 2020 (Autumn edition) which features an insight into The Future For Acreage This Decade.

It’s definitely worth checking out, because what’s happening Post-COVID-19 ties in with where acreage is headed during this next decade.

The Acreage Report features statistics about what's happening in the Hawkesbury, Hills & Sydney’s North West acreage market. Plus you also get instant access to a copy of The McGrath Report 2020 which features exclusive insights from one of Australia’s leading property experts, John McGrath.

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, enjoy the rest of your long weekend and bye for now.

Regards

Greg Vincent