Sydney’s house prices are still on the up, but only by 0.1% over the month. Open homes over the past 3 weeks have seen a drastic reduction in buyer inspections.
Sydney's auction clearance rates have also been steadily decreasing over the past 4 weeks and dropped to below 70% last week for the first time in 3 years.
Having said that Sydney house prices increased a further 4.6% over the quarter and we are now 16.7% higher than this time last year.
This growth cycle - which started in June 2012 - has seen property prices in Sydney rise by almost 50%
The spring selling rush has seen the number of auctions held over the month of September rise by 31% compared with September 2014, and new listing numbers are climbing at a faster rate than last year.
Home sellers are still enjoying strong selling conditions, but it looks like buyers are slowly regaining some leverage in what has been a very hot market for a long time.
We have been less affected on the Northern Beaches as our enviable lifestyle always finds a buyer moving into the area or a local wanting a new place to live.
Last month we sold a home on the main road at auction for a record $1,450,000.
But have we reached our peak? The same scenario and questions were asked this time last year, when cracks were beginning to show in the housing market.
The RBA then dropped interest rates to record lows in February of this year which reignited the fire, giving our housing boom its second wind, further strengthening my assertion that our price growth has been predominantly due to interest rates at 60 year lows.
If the economy as a whole does not improve some commentators are predicting that the RBA could very likely employ the same tactic, and drop the cash rate to a staggering 1.5%.
Could this give our housing boom its third wind? Well only time will tell
At the moment it is unlikely that we will experience a bust however Sydney's market simply cannot just keep going up as experienced over the past 2 ½ years, so a correction could well be around the corner.
Now is a great time to get an update where you stand in the current market. Contact me today so I can give you a neutral opinion as to what I think you could sell for.
Thanks for reading,
Tony.