As banks tighten their lending criteria for would-be homebuyers, the market is seeing longer listing times and stagnant property prices, particularly on the east coast.
Real Estate Institute of Australia president Malcolm Gunning said this phenomenon is quite apparent in Sydney, where homes were taking more time to sell. Citing recent data from CoreLogic, Gunning said homes in the capital were selling in 43 days on average, compared to the 31 day average from the same time last year.
Hobart remained the fastest selling capital city, with properties only taking 30 days to find a buyer. Meanwhile, Darwin has the slowest turnover with properties staying on the market for around 93 days.
Gunning noted that under current market conditions, technology and skilled professionals are most sought after by vendors as trusted advisers.
“Selling real estate is not a walk in the park. Gone are the days of the boom market where agents were able to quickly sell properties with limited marketing. We are already seeing that the current conditions are putting a strain on [the] low-cost models which rose to prominence at the height of the market," Gunning said.
The Australian property market is currently witnessing a rationalisation of agents due to tighter lending criteria. Gunning said this process would result in an environment where more experienced agents take over the market.
"This will encourage an environment where those agents that are better qualified, more skilled, from respected established agencies with strong local community involvement, will begin to dominate,” he said.
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New South Wales' stamp duty concessions lure first-home buyers
Collections: Mortgage News
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