RP Datas Market Activity Index which measures pre-listing activity by property professionals has recorded further easing over the most recent week. It now seems clear that Spring is unlikely to witness a ramp up in activity as has historically been the case. With it now nudging ever closer to the Christmas/New Year period we expect that the Index will remain flat into the beginning of December at which time it will record its traditional seasonal tapering.
Industry Market Wrap
Housing finance data released this week by the ABS shows that finance commitments continue to report weak results. The data showed that total owner occupier finance commitments increased by 1.0% during August however, they remain -22.8% lower over the year. Although total owner occupier commitments increased over the month, this was entirely as a result of the increase in the number of finance commitments for established dwellings (1.4%). Finance commitments for new construction (-1.0%) and the purchase of new dwellings (-2.0%) continued to ease over the month and are now -27.9% and -18.7% lower respectively over the year. The total value of housing finance commitments to investors also fell to $6.5 billion during August, the third consecutive month in which the value has eased which suggests that investors are becoming less active in the current market as value growth continues to slow. Finally, the number of first home buyer housing finance commitments fell by -2.5% for the month and is down by -49.3% for the year. First home buyer commitments have not been as low since January 2005.
The Melbourne Institute and Westpac Bank released their Consumer Sentiment Index results this week. The October Index results reported an increase of 3.3% over the month with the Index recorded at 117.0 points. The result highlights that the Australian consumer is significantly more optimistic than pessimistic in the current economic climate. A subset of the consumer sentiment index is the Time to Buy a Dwelling Index which was recorded at 110.3 points for the months. This result is perhaps a little surprising, indicating that consumers remain optimistic that it is a good time to buy property despite the fact that property value growth is clearly slowing and there is a strong likelihood of further interest rate hikes. The results would appear to be at odds with housing finance data which shows continuing weakness amongst commitments for finance. Advertised Stock on the Market The number of newly advertised properties for sale recorded a 7.0% surge last week. We believe this is somewhat of an aberration from the increase in market activity around a month ago, as a result we dont expect this type of increase to continue. Despite this surge in new advertisements, total advertisements increased by just 2.2% over the week. The total number of advertised listings remains 6.5% above the 12 month average level.
With fewer houses on the market this Spring, it's even more important to find out what exactly is happening in your patch.Make sure you have subscribed to RP Data's On the Market® service.Click here or phone 1300 734 318 for a free 2 week trial.
Latest National Auction Clearance Rates Across the combined capital cities there were approximately 1,650 auctions held last week indicating that a significant number of properties are still being taken to auction. Despite the healthy volume of auctions the weighted average auction clearance rate remains quite low at 57.7%. This is a s light improvement on last weeks result however, at the same time last year the weighted average auction clearance rate was 75.3%. In Melbourne, auction clearance rates fell to 64.6% and Sydneys auction clearance rate increased to 59.6%.
Our auction results change weekly - want to know the auction results for your local area? Log into rpdata.com and go the Auction Results panel on the top right corner of the home page.
Number of Properties Advertised for Rent The number of new rental property advertisements was relatively flat during the week (-0.1%) however, new advertisements are -5.8% lower than they were a month ago. With the number of new advertisements relatively flat, so too were total listings over the week (-0.2%) although, total rental advertisements are -5.0% lower than they were a month ago.
Have you checked your maps?
RP Professional is the best tool to get a clear visual representation of your search results, with its intelligent mapping server placing your results on a professional map, regardless of distance or number of results.
Simply follow the steps below to see just how easy this is:
Start by searching for an area youre interested in. Using the
Refine Search tools to the left, you can filter results by property type, bedroom or bathroom number, land size and last sale date, then select individual properties of interest from the filtered results.
Once you have created a list, you can now map its properties with the touch of a button. Go to the
Multi Property Activities box and click RP Map.
Your selected properties are highlighted in yellow on a single custom RP Map, giving you a professional visual record of your list.
Using the
Multi Property Activities box, you can save your list to use later, adding additional properties later if you wish. You can also use the box to create a print quality Property List Report to accompany your map.
Some other multi property features appear only on individual results panels. For example, when viewing large sets of
On The Market results, you can save property addresses to your computer's desktop with the Save as CSV button in the Multi Property Activities box.
These tools and more make RP Professional the easier, faster and smarter choice for searching multiple properties and intelligently mapping and analysing the results.
Login with the same Personalised Login and Password that you currently use for RP Data. There is no extra cost for RP Professsional, which will eventually replace RP Classic.
If you have any questions, please phone 1300 734 318 or email support@rpdata.com
Article: Suburbs with the greatest total value of sales
Its not always the premium markets that are recording the highest gross value of home sales.
RP Data figures show the total value of dwelling sales across the country was almost $213 billion for the year to July 2010. Five years prior, the total value of sales across the country equated to more than $165.5 billion. Over the last five years the total value of residential property transactions has increased by 30%.
An industrial facility in Marleston, South Australia, has been sold with vacant possession by agents of Colliers International.
The property at 33-35 Grove Avenue, Marleston, was sold to an owner occupier that is understood to have been in the market for some time, looking for the right opportunity to centralise its operations.
Colliers International industrial manager, Justin Fried, marketed the property, which achieved a final selling price of $1.3 million.
Mr Fried said that properties within Adelaides inner west have always been highly sought after and that the large number of investors and owner occupiers that quickly registered their interest in the building really reflected that.
The sites strategic position with dual access and the proximity to both Richmond Road and South Road, along with the Adelaide Airport was certainly a drawcard but the majority of enquiries that came through were simply because it was a quality building with a flexible floor plan in a tightly held area, said Mr Fried.
The fact that it was on two titles on a large site nearly 2000 sqm, also added to its appeal, particularly to those looking for expansion potential over the long term.
The office and warehouse facility of approximately 1014 sqm was sold along with ten car parking spaces.
Blog: First home buyers most attracted to jobs rather than affordablilty
The housing finance data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Oct 11 shows that first home buyer demand has remained weak. During August the number of home loans taken by first time buyers was just 7,460.
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The property at 33-35 Grove Avenue, Marleston, was sold to an owner occupier that is understood to have been in the market for some time, looking for the right opportunity to centralise its operations. 
