Got a question for the trio? - https://zfrmz.com/uLtjhyBskV96PY6eJfaI Show notes: https://propertyplanning.com.au/market-update-feb-2023-ep-195/ 1. Price falls are substantially lower this month, compared to last month February saw even more of a slowdown in the rate of price decline, and interestingly, Sydney's positive price movement of +0.3% in February carried the national and combined capitals/regions average to almost negligible price movement at -0.1. Cate sheds light on why 2023 is quite different to past years.  COVID lockdowns impacted agent activity significantly in the lockdown cities and and agents took the chance to take a holiday this summer after two consecutive, challenging summers. And what's behind Hobart's recent under-performance? 2. New listings and total listing figures are still substantially under the previous five year average, but the discrepancy is slightly smaller than last month. Much like Cate and Dave's point for February sales, it's likely that the listing activity was lower than typical January/February periods due to agents and vendors taking advantage of a summer break. 3. Unit rents are looking dire for renters in most cities, but what is going on with Canberra? Dave has an ear to the ground with some of his family in our nation's capital and his late night text to Pete and Cate sheds some light on the issue. Namely, three forces are at play for Canberra right now; Public service wages were frozen. Lots of interstate people can work from home doing jobs based in Canberra. And the cost of living is very high Canberra relative to it size. 4. Tighter rental vacancy rates – as rents continue to climb, some of our capital cities (for both houses and units) are exhibiting further tightening rental yields. The falling rents during COVID are a stark contrast to the rate of rental increase today. 5. Sales activity is still low despite an expectation that our emerging autumn markets usually start to demonstrate a peak of activity at this time. The volume of sales currently, when contrasted against the higher number of houses and increased population count within our capitals, presents quite a surprise. Pete discusses the decreased consumer sentiment and the correlation this has with listing and selling activity. 6. Consumer sentiment has continued to wane, although the trio point out some interesting indices on the latest Westpac Consumer Sentiment chart. Pete refers to current consumer sentiment at the start of the episode and makes a point that the sentiment levels today are among some of the lowest we've had in recent times, despite the fact that our interest rates are still comparatively low compared to historical rates. 7. Our bond yields continue to tell us that interest rate equilibrium is getting closer, although money markets indicate that we may have more rate rises than earlier expected. 8. Unemployment continues to stay at historically low levels. As Pete says, "Ahhh, but some good news!" Gold Nuggets Cate Bakos – The Property Buyer: Cate reminds listeners to factor in the impact of COVID on our markets, and in particular, the ongoing effects that have continued to shape our data. David Johnston - The Property Planner: Dave has some sagely advice for our governments when tackling the number of available properties for sale. Without policy intervention and changes to stamp duty, he feels the issue is not likely to go away.