House sales increase during the pandemic in NT
Contact
Jul 24, 2020
House sales increase during the pandemic in NT
The REINT June Quarter 2020 Real Estate Market Report makes for interesting reading as figures defy expectations.
-
Deposit photosDarwin's water front
The Real Estate Institute of the Northern Territory (REINT) has released its June Quarter 2020 Real Estate Market Report for the Northern Territory and has reported an almost 11 percent increase in house sales for the quarter and vacancy rates falling by around 2 percent across Greater Darwin.
“The Detached Dwelling or ‘House’ market saw a sizeable increase in sales and even a small bump in median price.” said REINT Chief Executive Officer, Mr Quentin Kilian.
"The June Quarter 2020 saw sales volumes rise by 10.9 percent across Greater Darwin.
At a Glance:
- June Quarter 2020 saw sales volumes rise by 10.9 percent across Greater Darwin
- Median house price increased by 1.6 percent across Greater Darwin at $477,500
- For units sales volumes fell by 11.6 percent
"The bulk of this was in Darwin North Coastal area, with a 25.9 percent increase, and takes in suburbs such as Alawa, Coconut Grove, Milner, Nightcliff and Wanguri.
"Palmerston also fared well with an 11.3 percent increase in sales volumes.”
The median house price increased by 1.6 percent across Greater Darwin to come in at $477,500.
Quentin Kilian, CEO, REINT Photo: REINT
“However, the increases were much stronger in some areas with Inner Darwin seeing a strong lift of 7.8 percent in median price and Palmerston seeing its median go up 4 percent," said Mr Kilian.
Sales were strong in Katherine and Tennant Creek, but Alice Springs saw a drop of 11 percent in sales volumes.
“While the Alice Springs volumes were down, the median price held up very well with an increase of 3.2 percent to $471,500.” said Mr Kilian.
Unfortunately it was a very different picture in the Unit/Townhouse market.
The Greater Darwin sales volumes fell again quite sharply, down by a further 11.6 percent this quarter, recording just 130 sales for the quarter.
And with it came the median price, slipping a further 7.5 percent in the quarter to bring in the median at just $280,000.
“Inner Darwin and Palmerston bucked the negative sales trend for the quarter with Inner Darwin Unit sales up by 6.9 percent and Palmerston Unit sales rose a very healthy 27.8 percent," said Mr Kilian.
"However the median price took a hit coming down by 7.9 percent to $330,000.
"Equally the Palmerston Unit market took a solid hit to its median price, falling by 14.7 percent to $230,000.
"Alice Springs, on the other hand, saw very strong growth in both Unit sales volumes, up 11.1 percent, and median price, up 3.2 percent, to $337,500."
Vacancy rates fell across all jurisdictions in the Territory.
“Following on from the lead in the January Quarter, the Territory continues to have a very active rental market," said Mr Kilian.
" A trend that appears to be continuing into the September Quarter.”
Greater Darwin rental vacancies have fallen by 1.8 percent to come in at 3.6 percent.
The Palmerston market saw a fall of 2.1 percent in available vacancies, registering one of the lowest vacancies rates for many years at 2.9 percent.
Alice Springs dropped a further 1.1 percent to record a vacancy rate of 4.3 percent.
“Rents were a mixed bag with House rentals, based on 3 bedroom detached dwellings, dropped 1.5 percent over the quarter to come in at $452.00 per week, but Unit rents, based on 2 bedroom Units, rose by 1.7 percent to come in at $335.60 per week," said Mr Kilian.
“One of the strongest points is for the investor market where Rental Yields remain very strong.
"House yields dropped slightly but still record a strong 4.9 percent, and with the falling Unit prices, coupled with strong rents, the Unit/Apartment yield has risen by 0.6 percent to an extremely attractive 6.2 percent yield.
"Alice Springs has also recorded strong rental yields with 5.6 percent on Houses and 6.2 percent on Units.“
Mr Kilian said they are continuing to see strong buyer enquiries and activity, which makes it two consecutive quarters of strong sales growth.
"The pressure is on the Unit market, but the strong sales figures in Inner Darwin and Palmerston are very encouraging," said Mr Kilian.
“While some may look at the low median in the Unit market as troubling, the astute buyers – particularly First Home Buyers and investors – are seeing the real opportunity.
"To put this opportunity into perspective, the Greater Darwin Unit median is $280,000.
"The same Unit would cost you $315,000 in Adelaide; $369,500 in Brisbane; $370,000 in Perth; $385,000 in Hobart; $439,250 in Canberra; $540,000 in Melbourne and a whopping $647,000 in Sydney.
"Darwin’s Unit median is 56 percent lower than Sydney’s!”
REINT Members can view the report here, while non-members can subscribe here
Similar to this:
First home buyer? Why you should be considering the Northern Territory
Contact Details:
