The month in review: Sunshine Coast
By Herron Todd White
September, 2009
There is nothing like a good statistic. They can tell many
things, and with some statistics you can even make them
say what you want. Reviewing the volume of sales and
the price distribution in the first quarters of the last three
years paints an interesting picture.
There is no doubt that there is a significant decrease in
the volume of sales occurring from 2007 to 2008 with a
reduction of approximately 30% being experienced. With the benefit of hindsight, it is clear that in this period is
where the market started to unravel. Incredibly from 2008
to 2009 the volume sales held ground. This has basically
occurred on the back of the various government stimulus
packages and stamp duty concessions as well as the boost
to First Home Owners \Grant. Interesting data to review
are the sectors of the market that helped us achieve those
sale volumes.
The price distribution in the graphs shows us that the
lower price levels in the sub $500,000 range are where
most of the activity has occurred. This sector has increased
by approximately 18% from the previous year’s level. First
home buyers have been one of the main drivers in the
market taking advantage of the boost to the First Home
Owners Grant. With this increased level of demand, we
have seen properties in this sector increase in value, with
the majority of increases being significantly higher than
what the grants actually allows. It is questionable if these
price increases are sustainable once the first homeowners
boost ceases in September.
The market above $500,000 has been hardest hit on the
Sunshine Coast. The first sector being $500,000-$1,000,000
shows us that there has been a decrease in the volume of
sales of 25%. The million dollar and above range shows
the volume of sales has fallen by approximately 38%.
Consumer and business confidence is one of the major
impacts on demand in this sector. With this fall in demand
and the significant levels of supply on the marketplace,
with inevitability experienced a reduction in values. An
example of this is a property at Noosa Waters which was
purchased in October 2006 for $3,770,000. This property
has now being resold in May 2009 for $3,125,000,
indicating a decline of approximately 20%.
At present, there are some great opportunities out there.
Certainly properties in this upper price sector have
become more affordable. Subsequently, we are seeing
more sale contracts and interest being experienced
over recent weeks. We also have noted that investors are
starting to become interested. We do however advise
that buyers are being very cautious, given the flagging of
potential interest rate increases in the future.
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