SALES
The real estate market may be displaying less vigor than it has in more recent times, but buyers aware of the advantages available to them now are still seizing opportunities.
Four people found their new home with us over October, bringing our total sales for the year to 104. The rapid pace at which two of those sales moved at demonstrates buyer confidence remains strong - with 807/5 Verona Drive, Wentworth Point (two bed in Atlas) selling off market after its first inspection to a buyer we’d been working with, and 306/8 Marine Parade, Wentworth Point (three bed in St Tropez) selling off market, before its sales campaign even launched.
And while the general pace of activity has settled into an even keel, this confidence aligns with robust levels of buyer engagement which continues to stand out, with consistently high attendance figures at open homes a testament to the unchanged desire to buy. Over October we recorded a significant 243 groups (+64) attend our inspections across 22 (+2) properties.
Overall, the suburb’s 134 (-21) properties for sale may mark an 8.2% supply decrease since September, but the 28 (-4) properties sold unconditionally over October remains a solid performance figure that is only slightly less. These numbers paint a clear picture that while supply levels may be slightly lower, buyer activity remains relatively the same - if not more active when it comes to our particular inspections. Over the coming months, we anticipate a sharper decrease in supply levels in line with the expected, end of year moderation as potential vendors are less likely to list their properties so close to Christmas.
With the RBA's interest rate hike over October and again on Tuesday, the cash rate is now at 2.85%, an increase of 2.75 percentage points over a seven month period which is the fastest cycle of rate hikes since the early 1990s.
Wentworth Point’s median price is currently $734,600, mildly shifting 0.6% from $739,700 last month, and a reminder of the unit market’s price resilience compared to houses. For buyers with pre-approvals, considering making a move soon while their lending capacity is optimal would be a prudent decision. A purchase now means a standard settlement and settling in by Christmas, providing an ideal window to work with.
The upper house inquiry on the proposed stamp duty reform took place this week, and an outcome on whether the legislation will be passed or not is pending. If it does come into effect, we can expect to see buyer activity accelerate from the first home buyer cohort, who will instantly have greater access to purchasing without the upfront costs of stamp duty.
Review the full Wentworth Point report here.
RENTALS
Outstanding rental performance remained over October with 113 properties leased in Wentworth Point, 28 by Chidiac, maintaining our #1 ranking with 25% market share. Overall, we connected a total of 45 tenants with their new rental home this month - a figure 37% higher than our results in October 2021 - raising our total rentals for the year 480.
We leased a standard, local three bedroom apartment which presented beautifully despite its nine year age, obtaining $920 per week. This demonstrates both the key role presentation plays in rentals, and the considerable shift we’ve observed in rental prices over the last 12 months - with the same property likely to have achieved 10% less a year ago.
With such a strong rental market, there is little room left for movement and our average days on market remained at 13.4 days while the suburb average remained at 23 days (-1).
Supply levels have remained consistent and are showing no signs of considerable change, with the current rental market in Wentworth Point seeing 48 one bedroom homes yielding a range of $500 - $620, 46 two bedroom apartments within $600 - $800, and six, three bedroom apartments between $850 - $1,400.
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