All eyes have been on the real estate market lately, as changes are anticipated, following the recent hike in the official interest rate. The RBA made the long awaited move to increase the rate to 0.35 per cent, an increase of 0.25 per cent in May, after two years of the lowest interest rates in history.
The expansion of the First Home Guarantee (formerly the First Home Loan Deposit Scheme) to 35,000 places a year could lead to more buyer demand in Melbourne’s sub-$600,000 market and get tenants into their first home sooner.
The latest release of the Australian Bureau of Statistics Residential Property Price Index has confirmed that the value of dwellings in the city jumped 20 per cent in the 12 months ending December 31. That compares to a national performance of 23.7 per cent.
Melbourne has certainly been a good place to invest in property in the last year - with the city experiencing 15.1% annual growth according to Core Logic. And banks and analysts are seeing continued if more subdued growth for 2022.
Street appeal is the x-factor that can have would-be buyers fall instantly in love with your property. But it’s not a mystical thing. Rather, it’s a proven strategy of ensuring the front of your home is so appealing that it stops people in their tracks and musters up feelings of instant attachment.
While Melbourne’s rental market was one of the weaker performing of all capital cities in 2021, particularly its inner-city apartment market, there are signs that things could be set to improve in the year ahead. A reduction in rental vacancies and an uplift in the median rental figure point to a recovery ahead, something that will be aided by the resumption of international student travel.
