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BUYERS SHOULDN'T BE SPOOKED AWAY FROM PROPERTY
A recent survey by Datamonitors showed that 55% of those currently without a mortgage do not think they will ever be able to buy their own home. REINSW President Steve Martin said: “People read these stories and it feeds into a misconception that buying a property has become too hard. In fact, as the 2007 property figures show, buying a home is more affordable in many areas than it was 12 months earlier.
“People get scared off when all they ever read about is how much interest rates are rising and are likely to rise and how the younger generation will never be able to be homeowners,” Mr Martin said. “But with rents on the increase and the shortage of rental properties meaning that they will continue to rise for some time to come, buying a home makes more economic sense than ever.
“There are golden opportunities out there now and in many areas the apartment market, in particular, is under-valued.”
In the recently released 2008 Domain Property Guide, there is plenty of proof that unit prices have fallen not only in many of the outer Sydney fringe suburbs, but also in some areas closer to the CBD and handy to good public infrastructure and recreational facilities. Lifestyle suburbs such as Cronulla and Sans Souci in the south, Manly in the north and St Peters in the inner west, for example, all experienced declining average apartment prices in 2007.
Apartment prices in St Peters, which is less than eight kilometres from Martin Place in central Sydney, plunged by 19% to a median $355,000 in 2007 while in the beachside suburb of Cronulla they fell 1% to a median $394,000. In North Manly, the average price for an apartment was $420,000 in 2006. In 2007, it dropped sharply, falling 15% to $356,000.
“Long term, Sydney prices will continue to go up,” Mr Martin said. “The fact that falling prices in 2007 have made sought-after suburbs that would have previously been unachievable for first home buyers less expensive to buy into, should make people stop and ask themselves ‘do I want to get off the rental roundabout?’
“If the answer is ‘yes’, then there is no time better than the present.”
Please contact to Dael Climo on (02) 8267 0527 for further media comment.
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