Auction Clearance rate
September 2023 in Sydney saw the average clearance rate for the month come in at 65% with a total of 1,584 properties sold out of the 2,420 reported. The clearance rate was down on the August 2023 clearance rate of 72%.
Migration Statistics
The Australian Bureau of Statistics recently released the migration statistics for the year ended 31 March 2023. This data shows that Australia’s population grew by 563,200 people which represents 2.2% increase. In the March 2023 quarter natural population increase was 29,400 people which represented an increase by 260 people since the previous quarter. The quarter increase in net migration was 152,200 people which was an increase of 43,300 people since the previous quarter. PropTrack commented that the “quarterly growth was 0.7% which is the highest national quarterly increase on record”.
The numbers presented in this increase represents a natural increase such as births minus deaths and net overseas migration. The components of the annual population change was a natural increase of 108,000 people which decreased by 24,700 people or 18.5% since the previous year. In the same period net overseas migration was 454,400 people which represented an increase of 362,500 people since the previous year.
The above graph shows the annual population growth by state and it shows that Western Australia has recorded the highest increase in population in the year to March 2023.
From the above data the increase in population is due to an increase in net migration.
The concern here is that there is an urgent need for more homes to be constructed to accommodate the growing population and governments will be required to provide improved infrastructure to enhance the quality of life in Australia’s cities.
The increase in population from net overseas migration could be fuelling the current housing issues that are being experienced in the country.
Property Values
House prices across the Nation reached a new record high in the month of September with some areas recording increases in double digits. Prices across the country have risen by 0.35% in September to 4.31% for the full year. The greatest increases are occurring in the capital cities which have increased by 5.41% in the current year.
The Sydney market is showing strong increases with house prices up by 7.93% and unit prices are up by 5.24% in the year to date. Both house prices and unit prices have increased across all the greater Sydney regions this year. Four of top ten regions where house prices have increased the most are in Sydney.
The Westpac-Melbourne Institute Consumer Sentiment index in Australia rose 2.9% to 82 in October 2023 from 79.7 in September, hitting the highest level in six months but is still in deeply pessimistic territory, consistent with a continuation of the contraction in per capita spending seen since late last year. While there are some faint glimmers of hope around family finances and the outlook for jobs, these are being overshadowed by still-high inflation and renewed rate rise concerns. The RBA’s extended pause on rate hikes continues to see only a muted lift in sentiment, with consumers remaining wary of the potential for more rate rises in the months ahead. The component sub-indexes were again a mixed bag in the month, with family finances still clearly under intense pressure despite a marginal improvement, and no change in downbeat near-term expectations for the economy. Labor market conditions remain a notable source of support.
