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Sales remain strong in the Territory

The Real Estate Institute of the Northern Territory has indicated sales remain strong in the Top End, but the median house and unit price has flattened.

The Announcement:

The Real Estate Institute of the Northern Territory (REINT) has released its September Quarter data which shows sales volumes in both Houses and Units across Greater Darwin continued to climb at a good rate this quarter, but the median price on both flattened as the focus of the purchases moved more to properties under the $600,000 mark.

Vacancy rates eased a little in the quarter, but rents continued to feel upward pressure.

Mr Quentin Kilian, chief executive of the REINT, said “The standout again this quarter was sales in the Unit/Townhouse market across Greater Darwin where the number of properties sold jumped 37 percent in the quarter. ”

This is a rise of 89 percent from last year.

Mr Kilian noted, “While the median price slid back 1.3 percent in the quarter, at $390,000 it is still 30 percent higher than this time in 2020.”

Inner Darwin saw the most stock sold but Palmerston saw an 86 percent jump in Unit sales for the quarter and a 4.2 percent increase in median price.

Alice Springs had very strong sales in the Unit market, up 5.6 percent for the quarter and 46 percent better than last year.

While Alice Springs did see a 4 percent reduction in median price, that is still much stronger than last year. And Katherine saw solid sales, albeit with smaller stock number, but also saw a median price reduction of 8 percent this quarter.

Mr Kilian stated, “The Housing market, meaning Detached Properties, continues to remain strong right across the Territory and while the median dropped in Greater Darwin, very slightly, it sits at a strong figure of $575,500.”

Palmerston had the strongest sales numbers this quarter with 168 properties sold, which is a lift of 7 per cent for the quarter and up 84 per cent on last year.

Inner Darwin also had strong sales figures jumping 27.8 per cent for the quarter, and a very sizeable 109 per cent more than last year.

“The Inner Darwin area was the only jurisdiction in the NT to record a lift this quarter in median price, up nearly 12 per cent”, noted Mr Kilian.

Alice Springs had a very solid quarter with sales volumes up by 21 per cent this quarter and a median price of $485,000. Both Katherine and Tennant Creek recorded good sales this quarter, but both saw sizeable reductions in median price.

Vacancy rates eased across Greater Darwin this quarter, pushing out by 0.4 per cent, although at just 1.9 per cent vacancy rate in Darwin & Palmerston, 1.5 per cent in Alice Springs and just 1.0 per cent in Katherine, this still points to very limited supply in the market.

“In fact, Katherine recorded a vacancy rate of just 0.5 percent in its House market and Darwin’s rural area had a 0 percent vacancy in Units,” noted Mr Kilian.

However, with the exception of Inner Darwin and Katherine, rents continued to feel upward pressure over the quarter.

The median rent, in Greater Darwin, for a (benchmark) 3-bedroom House climbed by 6.4 percent to $588.50 per week and the median rent for a (benchmark) 2-bedroom Unit moved up by 3.7 percent to $423.00 per week.

For the investor market the Yields have lifted slightly and remain much stronger than all other Australian capital cities, with Houses at 5.3 percent and Units at 5.6 percent.

Alice Springs offers investors fabulous yields with Houses there at 6.1 per cent and Units at 6.7 per cent.

Investors will get similar value on Houses in the Katherine market, but due to growing demand and very limited supply, Units in the Katherine market are returning 8.5 per cent yields.

Mr Kilian said, “The picture across the Territory is one of continued strong demand but the pressure is on the supply side, particularly as there is little new stock coming to market. Rental demand remains high with strong turnouts to almost all rental opens and limited available stock.”

“This quarter we are aware of a number of landlords selling off their properties which has further reduced rental stock” Mr Kilian stated.

“Investors have become more interested in the Territory over recent months, mainly due to the strong yields on offer, and that should bring more stock back into the rental market,” said Mr Kilian.

Mr Kilian noted, “We continue to be concerned that the Territory Government remains stubbornly opposed to reintroducing concessions for First Home Buyers”.

“As stock levels continue to drop and prices rise, added to the new borrowing rules imposed last month, this will start to push the purchasing ability – without some form of assistance – beyond the capacity of many first home buyers. This will mean they will remain in the rental market, which is already under stress, or seek opportunities elsewhere.”

The RELM report is available from the REINT atย www.reint.com.au

Source: Real Estate Institute of NT

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