Buckle up, fellow adventurers! The Real Estate Institute of Tasmania (REIT) has recently dropped the September 2023 Quarterly Report, and trust us, it’s not your average bedtime read. We’re diving into the wild, wonderful world of Tasmania’s real estate, and let us tell you, it’s a rollercoaster of waves and wonder.
Grab your surfboard, and let’s ride the metaphorical waves of real estate in the Apple Isle.
Tasmania’s Real Estate Jam Session
The overall tune playing in Tasmania’s housing market is a mellow one, maintaining its rhythm through 2023. We’re talking 2,127 sales, totalling a cool $1.28 billion over the quarter. Sure, it’s a tad slower than last year, but hold your horses because the real estate party is far from over. With a promise to surpass 8,800 transactions valued at over $5.4 billion for the entire year, we’re in for a wild ride.
A Stroll Through the Funky Neighbourhoods
Let’s get down to the nitty-gritty. Median prices for houses, units, and land are where the real story unfolds. Houses across the state are grooving at a median price of $605,000, just a $5,000 shimmy down from last year.
Unit sales are taking a little dip, grooving to a median price of $492,500 reflecting a decrease of $2,500 from the previous year and $950 from the preceding quarter, while land is finding its rhythm at a median of $260,000. It is $29,000 less than the median in September 2022 and $3,750 lower than the preceding quarter. Sales figures saw a decline of over 10% compared to both the previous year and the previous quarter.
Southern Tasmania: The Grooviest Suburbs and Shores
Now, here’s where the plot thickens. Greater Hobart, the ultimate party central, outshone the previous year with 452 house sales but fell a bit short compared to the last quarter. Hobart’s median house price is busting moves at $722,500, marking a 4.8% drop from last year. Launceston is doing the limbo, facing a decline in both sales (197) and median price ($530,000). In the North-West, the sales might have dropped, but the median price is rising, hitting $480,000.
Hold onto your beach hats because Seven Mile Beach is taking the lead with the highest suburban median house price at a whopping $1,595,000, followed by Sandy Bay ($1,300,000) and Tranmere ($1,297,000). On the other end of the spectrum, Rosebery was the most affordable at $173,000, followed by Waverley ($293,000) and Mayfield ($317,500).
Meanwhile, Burnie takes the spotlight as the popular kid in town with 71 sales, leading the pack and showcasing its popularity. Following closely are Devonport with 47 sales and Kingston with 35 sales. Among the municipalities, Launceston recorded 228 sales, closely trailed by Clarence with 226 sales.
In 2021, the average house selling time was 13 days in Hobart, 18 days in Launceston, and 20 days on the North-West Coast. Presently, these durations have extended to 34, 41, and 42 days, respectively.
Surf’s Up: The Rental Wave
Now, let’s paddle into the rental realm, where the waves are making a welcome change. In the last 12 months, there has been a notable relaxation in rental vacancy rates, shifting from 1.0% in September 2022 to 2.1% in September 2023. Additionally, the rate has seen a 0.3% increase over the past quarter.
Concurrently, median rents in Hobart have decreased from $550 per week to $520 per week within the same timeframe, showing a decrease of $5 compared to the previous quarter and a $30 reduction compared to the same period last year. In Launceston, rent has remained steady at $450 per week, while across the North-West, rents have experienced a $15 per week increase over the past year. Letting times have generally extended across most regions.
Southern Tasmania’s Symphony in September
Zooming into Southern Tasmania, there were 1,016 transactions totaling $711 million. Although transaction numbers saw a 13.5% decline from June, they exhibited a 1.5% increase compared to the same period last year. Among these transactions, there were 710 house sales with a median price of $695,000. The median price experienced a quarterly decrease of $5,000 and was $25,000 lower than the same period last year.
As mentioned earlier, Seven Mile Beach is claiming the top spot with an impressive suburban median house price of $1,596,000, painting a picture of pure luxury. Following Seven Mile Beach for the Southern Tasmania area are Sandy Bay ($1,300,000) and Tranmere ($1,297,000). Herdsmans Cove, Clarendon Vale, and Risdon Vale, on the other hand, are the more affordable areas with $400,000, $410,000, and $450,000 median prices respectively.
Meanwhile, Clarence led in municipal sales with 226, followed by Glenorchy with 172, Hobart with 166, Kingborough with 143, and Huon Valley with 92.
The number of first home buyers (176) saw a 17.9% decrease from June’s figures, yet it exceeded the count from the same period last year by 10 sales. Among these, 119 acquired houses, 41 purchased units, and 21 secured land.
On the other hand, investor numbers (113) increased by just 2 compared to the previous quarter and 5 more than the same time last year. However, they remain significantly lower (-46.9%) than in September 2021.
During the third quarter, houses took an average of 34 days to sell. This is a slight improvement from the 38 days in June but an increase from the 26 days recorded in September of the previous year. Notably, in September 2021, the average time to sell was only 13 days.
In the same quarter, 142 sales exceeding $1 million were recorded in Southern Tasmania. While this figure is lower than the 173 recorded in June, it surpasses the 132 recorded in September of the previous year. Southern Tasmania continues to dominate high-value property transactions, accounting for 75.5% of all sales over $1 million.
Conclusion:
In the ever-changing seascape of Tasmania’s real estate, the September 2023 Quarterly Report provides a snapshot of a market in transition. As interest rates rise and the cost of living increases, the market is taking a breather, offering buyers a unique opportunity with more choices and less competition.
So, whether you’re a seasoned investor or a first-time buyer, now might just be the perfect time to paddle out into Tasmania’s real estate waters. With Southern Tasmania taking centre stage in this symphony, the waves of opportunity are waiting to be ridden.
If you need a hand with anything and everything real estate, we’re just one call or message away! Our fun and friendly team will help you achieve your property goals, whether you’re a buyer or an investor.
