Reverse sea-changers and people moving back to the inner city and into townhouses could be the driving force behind the property market in 2022 according to a leading buyers agent.
Head of Advisory for Australian buyer’s agency Maker Advisory, Reece Coleman said many people who left the cities over the past two years, were starting to return, and this would boost property demand.
“After long stints of working from home, many employers are now requesting employees return part-time to the office,” Mr Coleman said.
“As such, we’re seeing a growing trend of sea and tree-changers who previously relocated from the city to work remotely now competing for city apartments, pushing up both prices and rents.”
With the sharp rise in house prices over the past year, Mr Coleman is starting to see people looking at more affordable options such as townhouses.
“Having been priced out of freestanding houses, many young professionals are turning instead to strata-titled properties such as townhouses, villas and apartments,” he said.
“We are currently seeing lots of interest in such properties, thanks to their attractive price points, good lifestyle amenity and low maintenance requirements compared to traditional houses.”
Mr Coleman said the return of international students and skilled migrants will also benefit the city markets.
“As arrivals increase this will fuel growing demand for rental properties, kick-starting the recovery of inner-city rental markets previously hampered by border closures and lockdowns,” he said.
In some positive news for buyers who have struggled with tight supply, the recent increase in listings is likely to benefit those looking to buy a property in 2022.
“With more stock now coming to market, and expanded stock levels anticipated during the autumn selling period, this is levelling the playing field for buyers, giving them more choice and making it harder to sell less desirable properties which may have previously flown off the shelf,” Mr Coleman said.
One of the trends that is likely to continue will be skills shortages and the rising cost of materials, which will continue to make it tough for builders and renovators.
“Residential construction costs went up by 3.8 per cent in Q1 2022, over four times the consumer price index increase of 0.8 per cent during the same period,” Mr Coleman said.
“Because of rising material costs and labour shortages the rates of both renovation and new home construction are expected to slow — already we are seeing tradespeople continually revising quotes upwards during renovations.”
Going forward, Mr Coleman predicts coastal suburbs and Brisbane are set for a strong year.
“The NSW Government recently announced increased investment in the Illawarra, Newcastle and Central Coast areas, and we foresee this leading to an uptick in investor interest in these areas’ ‘sleeper suburbs’, particularly those near beaches and amenity,” he said.
“Across the border, with Brisbane having secured the 2032 Olympics, we are predicting increasing investor activity in the Sunshine State’s capital over coming years, putting its property market firmly on par with Sydney and Melbourne’s.”
