The Australian Financial Review 20 Oct 2007 Page: 16 Property
The fast growth of Canberras public sector has not dimmed the buoyant real estate market, writes Caitlin
O’Toole.
Before John Howard’s election in 1996, the Canberra housing market died. As the coalition hopefuls
sharpened their razors, and public servants feared for their jobs, prices collapsed.
Today, Canberra is booming.
The prospect of a change of government, even the uncertainty of an election, has not dimmed the buoyant real estate mood.
Canberra house prices rose 9 per cent in the year to June - one of the strongest rises in the country, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics - and the momentum has not slowed.
“I’ve never seen so much money being made available in the ACT in the 20-odd years I’ve been doing real estate,” Maureen Dwyer of Dwyer Dunn Property Consultants says.
“It’s extraordinary. We put it down to the young professional couples. Most are working for the government and making quite a high income,” she says.
The typical first home buyer Dwyer sees is shopping in the $600,000 to $700,000 range and the shortage means that few of her properties last more than 10 days.
“The agents in town are puzzling it over. It’s been fairly strong for such a long time, we’re wondering if it’s going to stop.
“This time it feels like a lot more confidence because there’s more money around, says Dwyer, who recently sold an 18-month-old home in Yarralumla for $1.7 million.
One buyer recently snapped up a 663 square metre vacant block of land, then had to ask what the address was.
“You sell one home at one price and the next one seems to come on the market at $20,000 or $30,000 more.”
“Leading up to an election, normally signs of interest in property are softening but I’m yet to see that. It goes back to the supply and demand,” says agent Michael Potter, who typically deals with middle-market properties.
“It’s usually the busiest time of the year for sales, but listings are still minimal.”
Canberra residents feel pretty well protected and have factored interest rate rises into their plans.
“As we get closer there may be some signs of softening,” Potter says.
But he has properties starting on the market this weekend, and if they are priced rightly they’ll sell in their first or second week at or above market price, he says.
If a Labor government comes in, there may be upward pressures on wages, triggering more interest rate rises.
A rise of 0.5 per cent would hurt, Potter reckons. And any cut to the public service would also slow things down.
Agent Richard Luton, of Richard Luton Properties, is unconcerned.
“This election’s not going to affect Canberra at all because we are in a huge shortage,” he says.
The Defence Department is building new headquarters outside Canberra that will bring more public servants to the city, and the ACT is trying to attract workers in Sydney and Melbourne to move to Canberra
The fast growth of Canberras public sector has not dimmed the buoyant real estate market, writes Caitlin
O’Toole.
Before John Howard’s election in 1996, the Canberra housing market died. As the coalition hopefuls
sharpened their razors, and public servants feared for their jobs, prices collapsed.
Today, Canberra is booming.
The prospect of a change of government, even the uncertainty of an election, has not dimmed the buoyant real estate mood.
Canberra house prices rose 9 per cent in the year to June - one of the strongest rises in the country, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics - and the momentum has not slowed.
“I’ve never seen so much money being made available in the ACT in the 20-odd years I’ve been doing real estate,” Maureen Dwyer of Dwyer Dunn Property Consultants says.
“It’s extraordinary. We put it down to the young professional couples. Most are working for the government and making quite a high income,” she says.
The typical first home buyer Dwyer sees is shopping in the $600,000 to $700,000 range and the shortage means that few of her properties last more than 10 days.
“The agents in town are puzzling it over. It’s been fairly strong for such a long time, we’re wondering if it’s going to stop.
“This time it feels like a lot more confidence because there’s more money around, says Dwyer, who recently sold an 18-month-old home in Yarralumla for $1.7 million.
One buyer recently snapped up a 663 square metre vacant block of land, then had to ask what the address was.
“You sell one home at one price and the next one seems to come on the market at $20,000 or $30,000 more.”
“Leading up to an election, normally signs of interest in property are softening but I’m yet to see that. It goes back to the supply and demand,” says agent Michael Potter, who typically deals with middle-market properties.
“It’s usually the busiest time of the year for sales, but listings are still minimal.”
Canberra residents feel pretty well protected and have factored interest rate rises into their plans.
“As we get closer there may be some signs of softening,” Potter says.
But he has properties starting on the market this weekend, and if they are priced rightly they’ll sell in their first or second week at or above market price, he says.
If a Labor government comes in, there may be upward pressures on wages, triggering more interest rate rises.
A rise of 0.5 per cent would hurt, Potter reckons. And any cut to the public service would also slow things down.
Agent Richard Luton, of Richard Luton Properties, is unconcerned.
“This election’s not going to affect Canberra at all because we are in a huge shortage,” he says.
The Defence Department is building new headquarters outside Canberra that will bring more public servants to the city, and the ACT is trying to attract workers in Sydney and Melbourne to move to Canberra
