Latest news with #Domain
Sydney Morning Herald
3 hours ago
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
The regional Victorian suburb where rents rose the least in five years
On the outskirts of Greater Geelong, with its mix of owner-occupiers in new residential developments, university students in rooming houses and young families, Waurn Ponds has bucked the trend of out-of-reach rental rises. Waurn Ponds, bordered by several Geelong suburbs including Armstrong Creek, Grovedale and Highton, had the smallest five-year rent rise of any regional Victorian suburb, based on Domain data. Good news if you're a tenant, not so good if you're a landlord with an investment property. The median weekly asking rent for a house in the area is hovering at $500 a week, only 13.6 per cent higher than five years ago. Dr Nicola Powell, chief of research and economics at Domain, says the basis for the limited rental rise is largely due to an increase in new housing. 'Waurn Ponds, over recent years, has seen significant residential development and that has obviously increased the volume of new homes, and that in turn can also increase the volume of rental stock,' Powell says. 'When you look at the demographic, it's particularly popular among families and students because it's close to the hospital and Deakin University.' Suzi Gudasic, the head of property management at Buxton Geelong Group, says the majority of rental properties in Waurn Ponds are rooming houses, where rents are split across four or five people.
The Age
3 hours ago
- Business
- The Age
The regional Victorian suburb where rents rose the least in five years
On the outskirts of Greater Geelong, with its mix of owner-occupiers in new residential developments, university students in rooming houses and young families, Waurn Ponds has bucked the trend of out-of-reach rental rises. Waurn Ponds, bordered by several Geelong suburbs including Armstrong Creek, Grovedale and Highton, had the smallest five-year rent rise of any regional Victorian suburb, based on Domain data. Good news if you're a tenant, not so good if you're a landlord with an investment property. The median weekly asking rent for a house in the area is hovering at $500 a week, only 13.6 per cent higher than five years ago. Dr Nicola Powell, chief of research and economics at Domain, says the basis for the limited rental rise is largely due to an increase in new housing. 'Waurn Ponds, over recent years, has seen significant residential development and that has obviously increased the volume of new homes, and that in turn can also increase the volume of rental stock,' Powell says. 'When you look at the demographic, it's particularly popular among families and students because it's close to the hospital and Deakin University.' Suzi Gudasic, the head of property management at Buxton Geelong Group, says the majority of rental properties in Waurn Ponds are rooming houses, where rents are split across four or five people.
The Age
2 days ago
- Business
- The Age
The neighbourhoods where the most homes sell at a loss
'Australia-wide, of all the loss-making sales, 63 per cent were units. But in any given quarter, units only make up about 30 per cent of all sales. That means units have a disproportionate level of loss making, and that loss-making comes down to just a few pockets.' For the March quarter, the Melbourne City local government area had the highest rate of loss-making sales in the country at 47.6 per cent. The next highest portion of sales at a loss in Victoria was in Stonnington at 36.6 per cent, then Yarra at 27.4 per cent and Port Phillip at 27 per cent. In Sydney, it was the Ryde (26.5 per cent), Parramatta (23.6 per cent) and Burwood (22.5 per cent) local government areas, for the same time period. Westpac senior economist Matthew Hassan said these areas were unit-dense, which would pull down the regions' profitability. 'For some time now we've observed quite a difference between units and houses. There are some reports that with units … new units can depreciate initially and there are some submarkets where there's a premium on brand new versus slightly older units,' he said. 'This is about the preference shift we've seen since 2019 towards detached houses, but also the legacy of construction issues. Which I would have hoped would be behind us now.' The report comes as Domain has forecast house prices across the combined capitals to jump up by 6 per cent over the next 12 months, as Sydney and Melbourne drive growth, with other major cities set to soften. Melbourne prices were tipped to grow 6 per cent over the same time period to reach a record median of $1.11 million, according to Domain's latest Price Forecast Report. Dr Nicola Powell, Domain's chief of research and economics, said Melbourne's property market has been 'undervalued in relative terms, and that value … is now bringing demand back'. Powell predicted Sydney house prices would grow 7 per cent to $1.83 million. Loading She said Sydney and Melbourne were quick to react any changes in the cash rate. The major four banks have issued varying forecasts for home prices across capital cities in the 2026 calendar year. NAB predicted an increase of 5.6 per cent, CBA tipped 7 per cent and ANZ 3.8 per cent growth. Westpac forecast a 7 per cent increase in dwellings across the five major capital cities across 2026. ANZ economist Madeline Dunk said the bank's forecasts were published before the Reserve Bank's rate cut in February and may have undersold potential growth next year. 'We were surprised at the response coming through following rate cuts – when you look at previous times, it takes a while for rate cuts to feed through to market activity,' she said. 'This time, we saw an immediate jump in house prices in Cotality data … so there is some upside risk to our forecast given we have seen a reasonably solid response.' Hassan said profitability rates were not likely to improve until home price growth accelerated next year; Westpac was predicting only 3 per cent growth in 2025. 'We see this year as a bit of transition year for house prices, and you get interest rate cuts generating a bit of momentum and generating a bit of traction in those softer Sydney and Melbourne markets.'
Sydney Morning Herald
2 days ago
- Business
- Sydney Morning Herald
The neighbourhoods where the most homes sell at a loss
'Australia-wide, of all the loss-making sales, 63 per cent were units. But in any given quarter, units only make up about 30 per cent of all sales. That means units have a disproportionate level of loss making, and that loss-making comes down to just a few pockets.' For the March quarter, the Melbourne City local government area had the highest rate of loss-making sales in the country at 47.6 per cent. The next highest portion of sales at a loss in Victoria was in Stonnington at 36.6 per cent, then Yarra at 27.4 per cent and Port Phillip at 27 per cent. In Sydney, it was the Ryde (26.5 per cent), Parramatta (23.6 per cent) and Burwood (22.5 per cent) local government areas, for the same time period. Westpac senior economist Matthew Hassan said these areas were unit-dense, which would pull down the regions' profitability. 'For some time now we've observed quite a difference between units and houses. There are some reports that with units … new units can depreciate initially and there are some submarkets where there's a premium on brand new versus slightly older units,' he said. 'This is about the preference shift we've seen since 2019 towards detached houses, but also the legacy of construction issues. Which I would have hoped would be behind us now.' The report comes as Domain has forecast house prices across the combined capitals to jump up by 6 per cent over the next 12 months, as Sydney and Melbourne drive growth, with other major cities set to soften. Melbourne prices were tipped to grow 6 per cent over the same time period to reach a record median of $1.11 million, according to Domain's latest Price Forecast Report. Dr Nicola Powell, Domain's chief of research and economics, said Melbourne's property market has been 'undervalued in relative terms, and that value … is now bringing demand back'. Powell predicted Sydney house prices would grow 7 per cent to $1.83 million. Loading She said Sydney and Melbourne were quick to react any changes in the cash rate. The major four banks have issued varying forecasts for home prices across capital cities in the 2026 calendar year. NAB predicted an increase of 5.6 per cent, CBA tipped 7 per cent and ANZ 3.8 per cent growth. Westpac forecast a 7 per cent increase in dwellings across the five major capital cities across 2026. ANZ economist Madeline Dunk said the bank's forecasts were published before the Reserve Bank's rate cut in February and may have undersold potential growth next year. 'We were surprised at the response coming through following rate cuts – when you look at previous times, it takes a while for rate cuts to feed through to market activity,' she said. 'This time, we saw an immediate jump in house prices in Cotality data … so there is some upside risk to our forecast given we have seen a reasonably solid response.' Hassan said profitability rates were not likely to improve until home price growth accelerated next year; Westpac was predicting only 3 per cent growth in 2025. 'We see this year as a bit of transition year for house prices, and you get interest rate cuts generating a bit of momentum and generating a bit of traction in those softer Sydney and Melbourne markets.'
Perth Now
2 days ago
- Business
- Perth Now
Pedal to the metal for home prices as rates fall
Interest rate cuts and government first homebuyer schemes will put a rocket under property prices over the next financial year. The value of a median house in Australia will grow six per cent to $1.26 million in 2025/26, Domain predicts in its latest price forecast report, up from an increase of four per cent the previous 12 months. The average unit will grow five per cent to more than $680,000. A combination of lower borrowing costs, demand-side boosts like the federal government's promise to extend a five per cent deposit guarantee for first homebuyers, and an ongoing supply shortfall will drive prices up, said Domain chief economist Nicola Powell. Despite governments signing up to a target of 1.2 million of new homes by 2029, no states and territories are currently on track to meet their share of new supply. "So the pipeline of new supply is still challenged and I think that when you do add a demand policy, anything that brings even more people to market or increases how much they can spend has an inflationary impact on pricing," Dr Powell told AAP. Sydney is tipped to retake the mantle of Australia's fastest-growing property market, with house prices forecast to rise seven per cent to $1.83 million. Given its higher valuations, Sydney is more sensitive to changes in the cash rate. Markets expect the Reserve Bank to cut the cash rate another three times by Christmas. "It's been eye-watering for some time. It has always been, and always will be, our highest priced housing market," Dr Powell said. While Melbourne house prices are predicted to grow less quickly than its sunny rival at six per cent, the Victorian capital is expected to experience a larger upswing, given its recent two-year downturn. "When you look at Melbourne's housing market, it's deeply underperformed relative to other capital cities. It's been the poorest performer over the last five years," Dr Powell said. "We are expecting Melbourne house prices to be at a new record high by the end of next financial year, which means they are going to be moving through into a full recovery." Even though Melbourne's median house price will hit $1.11 million, that's still 63 per cent more affordable than Sydney. Perth will join the million-dollar club by the end of the financial year, although the five per cent growth forecast is down from the seven per cent rise the previous financial year. Growth in Adelaide house prices will slow from 12 per cent to four per cent, while Brisbane will be steady at five per cent.
