The month in review: Newcastle

By Herron Todd White
February 2018

So 2018 is upon us, the Ashes are run and won and Newcastle is alive with BBQs, beaches and business. The question is will that business be property business or has the market slowed?

There is definitely more uncertainty and trepidation in the market for this year than there has been in the past few, especially with Newcastle’s biggest market influencer Sydney at the beginning of a declining market and the new restrictions implemented on the banks regrading investment loans causing a decline in the number of investors, a group which has statistically been the largest number of buyers over the recent growth period.

While we have recently seen record sales in a number of areas including Kotara South and Stockton, local agents are reporting fewer buyers in the market which generally indicates the market is slowing.

This may not be the case for long though. With reports of a resurging mining industry and Newcastle undergoing one of its biggest infrastructure developments in recent history, there is an underlying feeling that the Hunter market may buck the trend and continue the strong growth experienced over the past few years.

There are certainly a large number of inner city apartments being constructed which don’t seem to be staying on the market for long and are fetching anywhere between $600,000 and over the magic million, which indicates we aren’t yet seeing an oversupply and the inner city infrastructure push is certainly attracting buyers.

Out in the valley, Singleton and Cessnock are certainly not seeing the prices they were during the mining boom, but they have climbed off the floor and there is an air of optimism that the market will continue to improve as the mines continue to recover this year.

Further north in Port Stephens, other than the Williamtown contamination zone which was expanded 50% at the end of 2017, the market continues to show signs that indicate that the Sydney influence may not be as strong.

2018 will certainly be an interesting year for the Hunter. The Newcastle Jets are killing it, the Knights are expected to climb off the bottom and much like these local teams, the property market has the potential to do very well, but could possibly disappoint.

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