Bargain hunters under 500k

[kincella]

Garth Makowski, of Dougmal Real Estate at Campbelltown in Sydney's southwestern suburbs, said inquiries had nearly doubled to about 600 a month, while the time it took to sell a property had fallen from up to 100 days to as little as one week.

"That happened for us back in October. As soon as the grants came in, then bang, it just went through the roof," Mr Makowski said yesterday.
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and graphs I saw yesterday showed most loans in sydneys west past 5 years were done by the brokers.....not the banks....there were stories the brokers were glossing up the applications....the people could not speak english, let alone read it...and had no jobs

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/business/story/0,28124,25019266-25658,00.html

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Ever met a wealthy person who complains and moans about everything ?

*** The best way to become a millionaire is to borrow a million dollars and have your renters pay it off.
Jack Miller

[gfresh]

It seems that Sydney really is feeling some of the strongest effects due to the FHB. It seems to be a factor here as most properties under $350k close to the city go pretty quickly, but a few still languish.

The following chart illustrates how the very top of the market has deterioted strongly in Sydney, but down towards the bottom very little falls. The melbourne chart actually shows small gains in the bottom two segments of the market.

http://www.aussiestockforums.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=27784&d=1233965154

From my own perspective.. while there might be some 'panic buying' by FHB'ers.. hopefully there may be some 'panic selling' by sellers as well :) reading these articles and realising they really need to be in that price range as well if they want a sale if it gets closer to June. This (may) encourage some to drop prices on high $400's to low $400's, and $500's down into the $400k bracket. Can see anyhow. If it's too heated, I'll just wait past June...

[kincella]

gfresh....I am surmising here...but with the very low interest rates, we may find the former fhb of 10 years ago, will now be upgrading...to a bigger house for the children...turning into teens, need their own bedroom etc...so where other high flyers or more expensive homes will be on the market...(massive number of margin loans called past 3 months)....
those people upgrading from their old first home can take up the slack....
and the fhb will have taken out most of the cheapies on the market....

self funded retirees are feeling the pinch...funds frozen and low term deposit income,,,,some may sell their inner city props...and head off for a cheaper tree or sea change alternative....again I believe these props will be in high demand....
its not a case of one size fits all....there are many affordable homes available right now....but they are not in the inner suburbs of the bigger cities.....
and the huge impact of the low interest rates...will leave a lot of people looking ....including the cashed up investor.....
who is out of the stockmarket forever,,,term deposit rates are too low, and inflation will eat away at it....that leaves the prop market, as a very stable and attractive investment....or a nicer home to live in, closer to the city, or in the country, on the beach....
cheers

[Property Dude]

What happens to the FHBG after June 30? Is it getting reduced or eliminated?

Does anyone else think that demand for housing after Jun 30 will fall away if most of the FHB have already jumped into the market? I have a few friends who are FHB who say they "have" to get into the market by June 30 but even they are unsure of what will happen to the FHB grant after then.

I suspect we will see continued activity as those FHB not in the market yet jump in before June 30 but may see some real slugishness after that, especially if this global economic crisis continues to bite.

As I am not a FHB I will continue to watch the market carefully but am not prepared to get into an investment property until I see what happens to the Australian economy over the next 12 months... or I find an amazing bargain in the meantime!

[gfresh]

At the moment I believe it's simply going back to $7k... although seeing as it seems to be working fairly well, I would be surprised to see the Government scrap it.

In fact, seeing as it seems to be working, it may in fact encourage the government to implement further schemes targeted towards investors or above $500k bracket (to howls of protest, but I don't put it past them)

I don't quite see the big fuss over $7k, seeing as no doubt demand is pushing up (or keeping up) prices at least this much. For a couple, if they can save $300/wk, that's less than 6 months savings.. If they *can't* save $300/wk you have to question if they really should be buying anyhow :2twocents:

Yeah, different if you were an investor looking to buy, in fact the FHB is probably working against you..

For a PPOR, my reasoning is that some of the better properties will be sold now to capture the perceived activity in the lower market - and at the moment I feel I can definitely buy a house within 12km of the city for low $400's. This wasn't that easy back in 2007, so the market has changed enough already in my mind. I think sellers that "want out" will do so before June 30th, the rest may hang on to properties and attempt to ride it through the recession.