As one of the longer election campaigns in recent history drags on, Real Estate Buyers Agents Association of Australia (REBAA) president Rich Harvey has reminded those considering making a property related decision that going against the grain can be a smart idea.
Harvey believes recent figures showing demand for housing credit is well below where it has been recently points to a beginning of market slowdown that could be accelerated by current political uncertainty.
“The Reserve Bank figures show that housing credit has remained stable over the first few months of the year, after some rocket-powered increases in lending throughout 2015,” Harvey said.
“This suggests that market activity has already slowed down, and pre-budget or pre-election nerves might see this escalate. With promises coming from all corners of the political arena and less stability until the votes are counted, a quieting could be on the cards,” he said.
While the majority of people may very well back away from the market, Harvey said those that keep a close eye on conditions in the coming weeks could very well benefit.
“While none of us have a crystal ball, it make sense that if there are fewer people in the property market, property hunters will have a better than average chance of picking up an excellent deal,” he said.
“The herd mentality is to sit back and wait and see what happens, while the savvy buyer continues to monitor conditions and buy prudently when the right property comes up.”
Helen Collier-Kogtevs, managing director of Real Wealth Australia agreed that current conditions could offer conditions people could make the most of, but she reinforced the need for people to do their research.
“It is a great time to buy for those have a well thought out strategy, exit plan and buffer in place and no for those who don’t have these in place. Our clients are out there getting good deals because they have well thought out strategies, exit plans and buffers in place,” Collier-Kogtevs said.
“You will always get people who will procrastinate and use market forces as reasons for not proceeding and that’s ok, but for those with well thought out strategies, exit plans and buffers in place, opportunity abounds,” she said.
“Fear is the major reason why people don’t achieve their goals. Having a well thought out strategy, exit plan and buffers in place will minimise their fears.”
