Autumn Market Update

Summer is behind us, and it has been another hot one for Singleton, with regards to both the weather and the property market.

We had a strong December to February in terms of sales, with over 20 sales for an average sale price of $625,764. The February average sale price for our office was an impressive $808,000. Properties that are well priced are still receiving strong attention and offers in the first 10 days on the market. There is no better example than our last sale for the summer, a beautiful family home at 7 Gentle Close, Hunterview which sold for $820,000 within 7 days.

The beginning of Autumn is going to be busy one for the office with several new listings, ranging from $550,000 all the way up to $1,300,000+ coming on in the first weeks of the new season, so keep your eyes peeled as we have a range of properties that will suit multiple buyers. To be the first to know about upcoming listings, sign up to our property alerts and give yourself the best chance of finding your dream home.

Stage 8 of Bridgman Ridge will be opened mid-March and available for inspection. 4 of the 14 blocks are currently under contract as this release provides some of the best land that has been offered for many a year. All lots have 20 metre + frontages and range in size from 809 to 2622 square metres (half an acre).

Although high end regional markets such as Byron Bay (-25%) and Illawarra (-12%) are starting to see declines in house value, the Singleton market remains strong.

This is due to the industry and the perceived affordability of the area. We saw lifestyle preferences and affordability benefits buffer regional markets from the early declines seen in Sydney and Melbourne and we are now seeing these factors, along with the strong coal and related industries buffer the Singleton market when compared to the rest of the regions.

The Singleton LGA saw a 3% growth in house prices over the last 12 months and a 11.6% increase in unit values. Sales volume is down, with 453 houses were sold in the last 12 months, seeing a 30.8% decline. The median value of a Singleton home is $644,410. The median days on market for Summer was 44 days and the median vendor discount was -3%. Similar to house sales volume, unit sales trended lower with a 19.4% decrease. There were 75 unit sales over the past 12 months. The median unit value in Singleton is $362,238.

The drop in sales volume can be attributed to the stabilisation of the market due to the rise in interest rates. Investors who held property in the area cashed out during the boom of 2021/22 and people took advantage of the sellers’ market to realise a profit.

The interesting shift is although buyer enquiry is down, the quality of buyer has strengthened, being less enquiry but those who do are ready to commit and have identified Singleton as their preferred. In the height of the boom investors and tree changers were comparing areas and often looking here yet buying elsewhere.

The current cash rate as determined by the RBA is 3.35%.

The next RBA Board meeting and Official Cash Rate announcement will be on the 7th of March 2023. People looking to buy now have 11% less borrowing Power than they did in September 2022. The affect of rate hikes on borrowing capacity can be seen in the table below.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 1.9% in the December quarter.

Over the twelve months to the December 2022 quarter, the CPI rose 7.8%. The most significant price rises were Domestic holiday travel and accommodation (+13.3%), Electricity (+8.6%), International holiday travel and accommodation (+7.6%).

Rental demand is continuing through into 2023 and looks to be another tight one for tenants as demand increases, supply diminishes, and rents rise.

This is due to a number of factors, the main driver being the thriving coal industry in the area.

Other factors include:

- Lessened first homebuyer activity, meaning more demand for rental accommodation

- Lower levels of investment purchasing at the moment, so there is fewer stock coming onto the market

- Investors having sold properties to owner occupiers during the 2021-2022 boom.

CoreLogic released their annual Best of the Best report in December; which sums up the 2022 property performance.

Singleton (suburb) ranked 7th highest in terms of gross rental yields for units in Regional NSW. Sitting at 5.8% with a median rent of $382.

Singleton Heights ranked 10th highest in terms of gross rental yields for units in Regional NSW. Sitting at 5.6% with a median rent of $375.

Autumn-Newsletter

If you are looking at selling and would like to know how to get the highest possible price for your property, contact us today on (02) 6572 4000.