November – Discover where you can potentially grab a bargain

With such disparity between property price growth in various markets around Australia, it’s interesting to look at the latest predicted hotspots and discover where you can potentially grab a bargain.

Based on recent strong transaction numbers, Adelaide has been identified as the number one growth city in Australia, home to more suburbs with rising numbers of sales than anywhere else in Australia. Recent Hotspotting Price Predictor Index figures reveal that 47 suburbs in Adelaide had rising sales activity. Report author Terry Ryder said strong or rising transaction numbers meant increased demand and frequently led to price growth.

“Mostly commentators look at the median price growth as a barometer and in that Sydney stood out and Melbourne as well but places like Adelaide haven’t so much,’’ Mr Ryder said. “But within Adelaide there have been pockets, sub markets, that have done a lot better than those generalised figures that describe the whole city. There have been areas in Adelaide that have had double digit growth in median prices in the last 12 months on the back of rising sales activity and now in terms of the number of suburbs with rising markets it actually is the number one city.’’

The report also revealed that Tasmanian markets have surged ahead of other capitals as possible hotbeds for future growth, with Hobart’s momentum rising along with that of Launceston and Devonport. The report highlights that sales activity picked up in Tasmania last year and maintained consistent levels throughout 2015. The June quarter was Tasmania’s strongest for sales for at least five years.

“Hobart is doing well and the Tasmanian economy has improved. It has still got a way to go but it is definitely better than it was and also investors are to a certain extent looking at Hobart and noticing it has got the cheapest prices, the lowest vacancies and the highest rental yields among the capital cities so its prices are very attractive.’’ Mr Ryder said Hobart topped polls in terms of cities that investors were targeting now.

The number of suburbs with an increase in sales had dropped in Melbourne to 33, Brisbane to 29, Sydney to six and Darwin to just two growth suburbs. Growth markets all but disappeared in Perth with only one suburb, Byford, recording transaction numbers which were rising steadily. “It is now difficult to find suburbs with growing markets across metropolitan Sydney,’’ the report said. While Perth results were poor Mr Ryder said that could be a sign to some investors that now was a good time to buy. “The smart investors buy when markets are down and it would be a really good time to be looking in Perth because it is pretty much at the bottom,’’ he said.

Many agents have been lamenting a lack of stock, which was highlighted in the report which said that the total sales in the June 16 quarter was the lowest in the past five years and less than half those of peak levels of 2014.

In New Zealand, it’s the scenic recreational mecca of Queenstown that’s being touted as the country’s property hotspot, according to an article in the New Zealand Herald. Its house prices soared 31 per cent in the year through September to an average of NZ$959,000 – that’s twice the 15 per cent rate of increase in Auckland and more than triple the 10 per cent hike in Sydney. The average house price in Auckland rose to more than $1 million in August, according to Quotable Value New Zealand. Prices have also soared more than 20 per cent in the past year in the North Island cities of Hamilton, Tauranga and Wellington as investor demand spilled out of Auckland.