The RBA has lifted interest rates to an 18-year-high, but despite gloom and doom in metropolitan media, real estate agents and finance brokers the say nature of Kyabram’s property market is resulting in a change of expectations, not home purchasing enquiries.
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The decision on November 3 to bump rates 0.25 per cent – the fifth hike this year – took the cash rate to 4.85 per cent, with the increase adding an average of between $77 and $153 a month to repayments, depending on loan size, according to Canstar.
It’s a move which Jake Parkinson, a sales consultant at McConnell First National Real Estate, said had shifted the market from where it was a year ago, but not drastically enough to see a major downturn.
“We're at a completely different price point to Melbourne, Sydney, or Brisbane,” Mr Parkinson said.
“So there is still movement in the market, there are still transactions happening.
“There’s still sales on established residential houses, there’s still sales on blocks of land, there’s still movement in the market."
Mr Parkinson said the effects of the rate rises and recent changes to tax and housing legislation appeared to be predominantly impacting the higher end of the town’s property market.
Jake Parkinson is a sales consultant at McConnell First National in Kyabram.
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“Most of our top-end stuff around the $750,000 to $1 million has been a little slower in terms of inquiries, but there’s still sales and transactions being made in those brackets as well,” he said.
“It certainly isn’t dead in the water.
He said some of the more noticeable changes he’d observed across the board were a decrease in investor enquiries and a general shift towards affordability.
“People currently are probably looking into something they can afford to live in and do some renovations over time rather than maybe paying a premium price point to get exactly what they want,” Mr Parkinson said.
“There’s definitely been fewer investor inquiries for establish properties, but we are still seeing units or rental properties which are geared positively or close to positively geared are still proving popular.”
On rental properties, Echuca-based Charles L. King & Co. director and auctioneer Troy O’Brien explained the impacts of rate rises often are felt by more than just those with a mortgage.
Troy O'Brien is the director of Charles L King & Co. First National Real Estate in Echuca
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Aidan Briggs
“From a renter’s point of view, the rate rise probably means when landlords are reassessing their returns they’re saying ‘well it’s going to cost me a bit more money to have a rental property, do I need to push my rent up a little bit higher,’” Mr O’Brien said.
“And with low rental availability, they get the opportunity to do so because there’s a lot of demand.”
“Rental increases are often a response to the increased cost of having the rental property, which landlords are always going to look to recover.”
Members of the RBA’s board were split on last Tuesday’s decision, voting six to three to raise rates.
The RBA anticipates inflation will remain above 3 per cent for much of next year.
