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?

Firstly I just want to take this opportunity to wish all of the Mum’s out there a Very Happy Mother’s Day for tomorrow. I hope your day is extra special and that you get spoilt and have the opportunity to catch up with your family during this unusual Covid-19 period.

This week, the NSW Treasurer, Dominic Perrottet announced via the media that the state government are considering abolishing Stamp Duty. It looks like they’re going to replace the one-off payment with a recurring revenue model.

This decision reminds me of something Robert Kyosaki shared in his book Rich Dad Poor Dad about the difference between the cattle farmer and the dairy farmer.

The cattle farmer raises his stock and sends them off to the cattle sales and he only makes his money once from each head of cattle that’s sold, whereas, the dairy farmer raises his calves up to produce milk and then the dairy farmer makes their money continuously by milking them everyday for the rest of their lives.

Personally I think abolishing Stamp Duty in its current form is a positive move by the State Government because communities will become more transient and property owners will have more flexibility to move around, plus, the annual revenue stream will be more predictable for the government which will help when budgeting for projects & services.

I see that abolishing Stamp Duty would be a welcome change as so many people are currently up for an extra $50 - $70,000 and in some cases hundreds of 1,000’s of dollars in upfront stamp duty which adds an enormous sting in the tail to the change-over costs which can make moving prohibitive.

In particular, I see that it would assist people who are currently stuck in dilemmas like having to put up with living next to bad neighbours or some people who are undecided about whether to take on that new job role or others who simply want to make that tree-change but they’re worried that if their move doesn’t work out then under our current Stamp Duty system they’re facing having to give another huge chunk of money to the state government if they end up having to move back to their original neighbourhood.

The only problem that I do have with the proposed abolishment of Stamp Duty is the timing of the announcement and the fact that there wasn’t enough detail provided about how it will actually work, plus I strongly believe that a change like this needs to be rolled out retrospectively from when the Treasurer, Dominic Perrottet made the original announcement.

In fact, I’ve already sent a couple of messages to The Treasurer this week saying that he needs to sort out the timing of the roll-out of these changes very quickly or otherwise his media announcement will create extra uncertainty and could only serve to ‘Stall The Market’ across all property sectors before the property market even gets a chance to move forward as the Covid-19 restrictions are now becoming relaxed.

If you’d like to know more details about Why The NSW Government Should Roll-Out Changes To Stamp Duty Retrospectively here’s a link to the article I wrote earlier this week.

Speaking about the Coronavirus, something that I’ve been talking to my clients about recently is...

“now that the lockdowns measures are starting to become more relaxed and the infection rate in Australian has been so low compared to other nations, Australia is going to become seen as an even safer place and I believe we should start to see a significant increase in foreign investment off the back of how our country has pulled together during the Coronavirus crisis”

... and in fact, my prediction looks like it’s already starting to happen.

In an article from Asia’s biggest proptech group, “Juwai IQI, Chief Executive Georg Chmiel delivered his verdict on the Foreign Investment Review Board's latest report, and he revealed that the Australia’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic may increase foreign real estate investment from Asia.

According to Juwai IQI, Chinese buyers made twice the number of enquiries on Australian real estate in April as in any other month so far this year and 50 per cent more than in any month in the second half of 2019.
Apparently marketers in China are already using Australia’s good performance to persuade parents of children who have been studying in the US and the UK to look at Australia instead.

Plus, when you consider the exchange rate and the fact that our Aussie dollar dropped significantly during the stock market downturn, property is now even more affordable for foreign investors.

It’s going to be very interesting to see how this all plays out and where the market resurgence will start to come, especially for the acreage market, as we now start to navigate our way through this post-Coronavirus period.

How’s The Acreage Market?

There are currently 438 acreage properties For Sale across the region. This total includes 244 acreage properties For Sale throughout The Hawkesbury, 132 in The Hills area and another 62 acreages For Sale within Sydney’s North-West acreage areas of Penrith and Blacktown.
This week, there were only 5 new acreage listings enter the market and there were a total of 7 acreage properties Sold this week. Which is a positive sign for the acreage market because it’s the first time so far this year that we’ve actually seen more acreage sales than we’ve had New Listings coming onto the market... and on top of that there are currently 14 acreage properties ‘Under Contract’ throughout the region.

Out in the field, it was great to be able to do Open Homes and On-site Auctions again in NSW this weekend. I anticipate that we’ll start to see the auction clearance rates start to increase and activity has already started to increase as the Covid-19 restrictions start to become more relaxed. As I mentioned last week, I could sense an underlying groundswell of acreage activity starting to build up a head of steam, especially from buyers looking to escape away from the crowded suburbs and embrace a more spacious, peaceful acreage lifestyle.

This week I’ve just listed another ‘Off-Market Acres’ property which is a classic Australian Colonial style homestead complete with the bull-nose verandahs, an open-plan Conservatorium-style living area with spectacular uninterrupted views overlooking hundreds of acres of grazing paddocks.

The property is set on 2.3 creek front acres and features 5 bedrooms + a study, spacious living, high ceilings, an excellent entertainment area, swimming pool, large brick workshop complete with a separate 1BR studio. Located in a quiet culdesac at 22 Kimberley Lane, Windsor Downs, it’s been priced to sell with a Price Guide of $1.65m - $1.7m.

If you’d like to know more or want to arrange an inspection make sure you get in touch with me as there’s already been a number of ‘Off-Market Acres’ buyers who’ve expressed strong interest in this one.

You’re going to absolutely love the privacy out the back and you’ll get to enjoy some of the most spectacular sunrises looking out over the valley in the mornings.

Also, speaking of ‘Off-Market Acres’, we are about to expand our service to allow even More Secret Places To Be Revealed because we’re extending our audience and market reach out into the acreage areas of the Central Tablelands. Over the coming weeks you’ll start to see our Facebook page showcasing a number of ‘Off-Market Acres’ in the rural parts of NSW around Mudgee/Gulgong, etc. which will be shared exclusively via our McGrath Central Tablelands team.

If you’re thinking about selling your acreage property you may like to consider trying this extremely popular, new ‘Off-Market’ approach. To find out more or alternatively if you’re looking to buy acres and want to be amongst the first to know about any of our ‘Off-Market Acres’ properties, make sure to check out www.OffMarketAcres.com.au or Like our Facebook page at Facebook.com/OffMarketAcres.

When you register at www.OffMarketAcres.com.au you’ll also receive a Free copy of The Acreage Report 2020 (Autumn edition) which includes important insights into ‘The Future For Acreage This Decade' as well as the Two Biggest Factors Set To Impact Acreage Over The Next 10 Years.

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 property expert, 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, Happy Mother’s Day and bye for now.

Regards

Greg Vincent