The Northern Territory’s peak industry body, the Real Estate Institute of the Northern Territory (REINT), has released its June 2021 Quarter data and the big news in the Territory property market this quarter is the movement in both sales volumes and pricing, particularly in the Unit market.
The Northern Territory’s peak industry body, the Real Estate Institute of the Northern Territory (REINT), has released its June 2021 Quarter data and the big news in the Territory property market this quarter is the movement in both sales volumes and pricing, particularly in the Unit market.
The Unit market has seen falls in median price, almost every quarter since June 2016. In fact, the median Unit price fell 44% from June 2016 to June 2020.
“From June last year we have seen it gradually returning” said Mr Quentin Kilian, Chief Executive Officer of the REINT.
In the June 2021 Quarter the Unit median price has lifted substantially by 20% against the previous quarter to $396,500. However, this remains almost 21% lower than June 2016.
Mr Kilian explained, “The key reason for the upward movement in the median is the higher sales prices this quarter. While in March we saw the large bulk of Unit sales under $350,000, in the June Quarter we had more sales in $350,000 to $600,000 ranges and saw 27 sales over $600,000. As the ‘Median’ is a measure of the mid-point in the sales values, the higher the sales prices, the more it impacts on the median.”
“This tends to indicate that the general sales prices are rising, and quite rapidly, and there is now limited stock in the range under $350,000”, stated Mr Kilian.
Interestingly in Alice Springs we saw sales volumes more than double in this Quarter, but the median price retreated by almost 10%.
“This indicates some very favourable buying opportunities in the Alice Springs Unit market with the median Unit price at $333,500”, noted Mr Kilian.
The Housing market has also shown healthy growth with a 32% jump in volume in the Quarter, which is nearly 80% higher than the same time last year. The median House price for Greater Darwin (which includes Palmerston) also moved up 6% in the Quarter to $580,000, which is 21.5% higher than the same point in 2020. This remains some 7% below the market peak in March 2015.
Palmerston performed strongly in sales volumes which jumped by 36.5% in the Quarter and a huge 98.7% compared to last year. Katherine saw a drop in the number of sales but saw solid growth in the median which jumped by 34% to $395,000. Alice Springs had strong growth in both volume, up by 10% in the Quarter and a massive 112% annually, and median price which lifted 6% in the quarter to $497,000.
Mr Kilian said, “The one area where we saw declines was residential land sales across the Greater Darwin region”.
Sales volumes fell by around 75% in the Quarter while the median price held relatively steady.
Mr Kilian noted, “We saw an exceptional jump in land sales in the March Quarter however with both a shortage of supply in residential land and the end of the Build Bonus incentives, we have seen those volumes fall substantially.”
Vacancy rates have continued to feel downward pressure in the June Quarter, with the Greater Darwin Market dropping to 1.5%. Katherine dropped to a very tight 1.3% and Alice Springs saw a fall to 2.0%.
Mr Kilian noted, “We actually saw a little increase in Palmerston which crept up a little to 1.8% and the Rural market which came in at 3.7%.”
For the investor market the Yields have fallen slightly but remain stronger than all other Australian capital cities at 5.0% on Houses and 5.4% on Units.
Mr Kilian stated, “The one thing that continues to concern the profession is the removal of the First Home Buyer stamp duty concessions by the NT Government on June 30 this year. This increases the cost of getting into a first home by upwards of $30,000 in most cases. While the definitive data will not start coming through until the September Quarter, we are already seeing the evidence from our members that the first home buyer market has slowed dramatically.”
“Not only is this a concern for the buyer activity but it means people who potentially would be buying a home and moving away from the rental market, thus freeing up rental stock, are staying in the rental market longer and that continues to add stress to the available rental stock”, Mr Kilian said.
Mr Kilian declared, “Again, we call on the Chief Minister / Treasurer to reconsider what we feel was a very ill-advised decision, and to reinstate the Stamp Duty Concessions for First Home Buyers in the Territory as quickly as possible.”
The 2021 June Quarter RELM Report can be downloaded at www.reint.com.au
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