The Property Trio (formerly The Property Planner, Buyer and Professor)

https://propertyplanning.com.au/propertyplannerbuyerprofessor/ In this week's episode Dave, Cate and Pete take you through: Market update 1. Handicaps for 'subject' to clauses The Property Buyer shares how agents are getting creative when dealing with a pool of buyers who don't want to submit unconditional offers. One particular agent is sharing a 'handicap list' for 'subject to' clauses. For example, his agency could factor in an additional $5,000 on top of the purchase price for a building and pest inspection, $10,000 for an extra 60 days before settlement, etc. The trio discuss the merits of this approach. 2. House prices have fallen in 7% of Australian suburbs During the March peak rate of growth, only 1.4% of suburbs posted a decline in values. This has sharply risen to 7%. Mining towns and some regional markets have reflected some of the largest drops. However, markets at the higher end have also weakened. During the three months ending in October, house prices in some unexpected prestigious Melbourne suburbs of Armadale, Mont Albert and Blackburn posted declines of 0.5%, 0.4% and 0.1% respectively. The trio discuss whether this may be due to high rise building releases or lack of attention from foreign buyers while overseas travel and international migration is on hold. The A to E of Property Success A - Area (location is key) Picking a great location is critical! You can change the size of the block and the dwelling on top of it, but you cannot change the location. The trio discuss the features to target if capital growth is your aim. Although the pandemic has changed the way we do business, the CBD will offer the much-desired amenity and being close to a source of water and having a nice view can also increase capital growth prospects. We can't under-estimate people's love affair with their city reigniting as things open back up either. B - Bungalows (and other period styles) The trio discuss the pre-war properties that Australian's love and can't get enough of. They are in limited supply and have highly desirable features such as high ceilings, big rooms, timber floors and are solidly built. The scarcity factor drives competition and growth for these properties, and also makes them very difficult to place a ceiling value on. It is for this reason that many of these period stunners fetch record high prices under competition. C - Capital growth is King (or Queen) When it comes to residential property, most people make more money from capital growth than from yield. The power of compound growth means that a difference in 2% capital growth could equate to a $3M differential over the course of a full working lifetime for your retirement kitty. If you are looking for rental return, commercial property could be an attractive option. However commercial property is not as resilient to economic shocks as residential property, this is because people always need somewhere to live. We may see a shift, particularly in the CBD and other centres where commercial will convert to residential. D - Dirt (the value is in the land) The appreciating component of the property is in the land and as the trio discussed in episode 125, it's not about the size of the land but the value of the land. If you're looking at a development, you need to consider features other than size, like frontage and heritage overlays, (among many other facets). E - Equity (use it!) The power of capital growth is that the equity built up in your asset can then be used to leverage into further investments, whether that be purchasing another property or shares. Unlike rental return, which coul...

https://propertyplanning.com.au/propertyplannerbuyerprofessor/ In this week's episode, Dave, Cate and Pete take you through: 1. Do cash rate rises slow down house prices? The Property Professor shares his recent research covering the last 30 years of cash rate rises and the effect on property prices. Is there a correlation? Listen to find out and visit the show notes to see the data! 2. Housing growth consistent over the last 3 months Nationally housing values increased a further 1.5% in October, which is in line with growth over September and August. Although slowing down from March's peak, 1.5% monthly growth annualised is still a whopping 18%. For most capitals, growth has slowed down since March, except for Adelaide and Brisbane, which have both increased. This is possibly because median values are lower in these cities, while other capital cities become less affordable. 3. Brisbane takes the mantle for highest month on month growth, but Hobart is still going strong Housing values grew 2.54% in Brisbane, while Hobart is coming down from extreme highs, posting a very strong 2%. Interestingly, property prices in Hobart are quite high relative to the rest of the nation, yet average incomes are 15% lower than national incomes. This points to money from the mainland being invested in Hobart and also indicates retirees and remote working sea-changers embracing the apple isle. 4. Regionals still outperforming capitals Growth in our regions has consistently been higher than capitals, which is shown in annual, quarterly and monthly growth figures. This indicates there is a still a drive to escape to the regions, but we wish there was more data! Where is the money coming from? The Property Buyer shares her purchasing experiences in Geelong, where three quarters of buyers in the current market are Melbournian. 5. Holiday locations and the great escape Interest in Queensland and key holiday destinations such as Noosa has continued burgeoning ahead. However, the trio warn that historically holidays locations have big runs of growth and then harsh corrections. 6. Will we see a rush of money to the property market? The trio discuss the March peak rate of growth and at the time, we were feeling secure and believing covid was behind us. Then comes the delta strain and further lockdowns dampening growth. With vaccination rates picking up, boarders re-opening and holidays around the corner, it seems like we're heading into another period of optimism that covid is in the rear view mirror. 7. Rental yields reducing as housing values soar Melbourne unit rental growth, (which reached as low as negative 13%), have finally recovered and is now in positive territory. However, even though rental growth is increasing, this has not kept pace with housing values, so rental yield as a percentage of the value of the property is actually decreasing. The average yield for houses in Sydney and Melbourne is likely as low as it's ever been, with rental yields at 2.20% and 2.40% respectively. This is one, (of many possible) indicators that the market is heated. 8. Listings on the rise but still at extremely low levels Compared with the last 6 years, total listings in 2021 are the lowest in number. Old listings (properties that have been on the market for over 180 days) have halved year on year for most capital cities, as old stock is snapped up. Thankfully, new listings have seen an uptick over October with the end of Melbourne and Sydney lockdowns and vendor confidence in the spring market conditions increasing. 9. Consumer sentiment in the property market...

https://propertyplanning.com.au/propertyplannerbuyerprofessor/ Market update 1. Spotting the suburbs across Australia that are suffering rental losses Our good friend Mike Mortlock from MCG Quantity Surveyors has instituted a rental losses index, which is a direct reflection of vacancy rates. A fantastic tool for any investor to add to their toolkit for identifying whether a location is a good area to invest in. The rental losses index has put a spotlight on university precincts in Melbourne in particular, but also Tarneit where brand new house and land packages dominate. Check out Cate's article in our show notes for more insights. 2. Lowest performing suburbs were on the fringe CoreLogic data reveals that the lowest performing suburbs in terms of capital growth were on the outskirts of capital cities. The largest declines in unit values have been in the outer fringe locations, rather than inner city high rise precincts, where higher density housing has historically been less common and therefore in is less demand. The oversupply of house and land packages has also dampened growth for detached houses. 3. The gap between houses and units is the greatest it's ever been House prices have surged by 28.9% in the 12 months to September 2021, which is more than double the 11.6% gain in unit values for the same period. CoreLogic data reveals the gap in Sydney to be 59% between median house price compared with median apartments, while in Melbourne the gap is 55.3%. These kind of stats would often scare people off, but there is a rising opportunity here in the unit market, as growth is likely to catch up to houses mainly because of affordability. 4. Is now a good time to sell? There is so much exuberance in the market, that now could be a great time to offload B-grade properties, which will have subdued capital growth in softer markets. Bigger is not necessarily better 1. The trap of bigger equals better In this week's episode the trio tackle the misconception that when it comes to capital growth, bigger land size is better. Where you consider properties on the same street with the same orientation, the bigger block of land will be valued higher (provided there are no encumbrances or other physical detractors). But where you are making a decision between a bigger block of land in one location and smaller block of land in a different location, people can make a lot of mistakes by chasing the bigger land. 2. Where did the idea of bigger is better originate? The great Australian dream of having a quarter acre block, with a hills hoist in the backyard and mowing the lawn on Sundays was the aspirational model for family living. That is not necessarily the case now, where suburbs close to the city where the not-so wealthy historically lived in closer confines are now highly sought after. Magazines and seminars have also created hype around bigger land and development potential, creating the misconception that people can get rich if they subdivide the land. 3. Land value not land size The trio discuss the importance of considering the land value, rather than the land size. Location is particularly important here and will have a significant impact on the land value. A smaller block of land in a location closer to the city with have a higher land value than a bigger block of land on the fringes. Think back to Christmas day with the kids, who would much prefer a giant Santa sack filled with gifts from the reject shop because there's more of it, but the smaller Tiffany box is much more valuable! 4. When is the land size too...

https://propertyplanning.com.au/propertyplannerbuyerprofessor/ In this week's episode Dave, Cate and Pete take you through: Weekly market updates 1. Investor activity and the impact on our rental markets CoreLogic data shows that from early 2017 through to 2019, investor lending started to drop away due to APRA intervention. That means that less investors have been buying rentals property since pre-2017, resulting in less rental properties on the market. This has created a tight rental market with vacancy rates going down and rents increasing. A lot of investors are happy that rents and prices are going up, but this spells some challenges now for the community of renters, which will only increase when international migration picks up again. Supply is inelastic, so the government needs to consider how we're going to increase the supply of property to cater for new entrants to Australia. 2. Predictions on APRA measures The measures instituted by APRA from 2017 to 2019 ground investment lending to a halt. The Property Buyer predicts that we may see a change in policy, where higher buffer rates may only apply to the asset being purchased and not to existing debt, as significant issues will be faced if investors are chased away from the market. The Property Planner predicts that the current APRA measure of raising buffer rate by 0.5% is unlikely to have a large impact and the regulatory body will need to consider other measures to put in place. 3. Parity between median house price and median unit price per suburb Recent data from CoreLogic compares the value of units against houses from 2016 to now for each suburb. There is an emerging opportunity for buyers who are looking at units, where you can identify a sweet spot for advantageous purchasing in a particular area. Older style apartments in the east have taken a hit over the last 10 years, due to gentrification of inner-ring markets in the northern and western parts of Melbourne. This shift saw an outperformance of houses, which were at one stage priced the same as eastern units, as people wanting to buy something for the longer-term and closer to the city and looked to the North and the West. 4. Australia in pole position in the transition to renewable energies Over the next two decades, the IMF expects a sixfold increase in demand for critical minerals worth $17.6 trillion, driven by the race to hit net zero emissions. The IMF has singled Australia to be in the top position to benefit in this transition, as nickel, copper, lithium and cobalt are key components in batteries and renewable energies and crucial in the transition away from fossil fuels. Australia is among the top three for global reserves for each of the four critical minerals, leaving us in a prime position to benefit from the new electricity storage and generation shift. Top investment tips #2 1. Which state or city should you invest in? The trio discuss the considerations of selecting which state or city to invest in, including diversification, market cycles, land tax that eats into your yield, the plans around your future home purchase and the dangers of hot-spotting. 2. Your budget should drive the choice Data confirms that Melbourne and Sydney have outperformed other capital cities over the decades. Selecting an outperforming suburb can make a reasonable difference to your end position over a long period of time. However, it's critical to select a quality asset and if your price range means that you are purchasing a compromised asset, it may pay to look at investing in a different capital city that better aligns with your...

https://propertyplanning.com.au/propertyplannerbuyerprofessor/ In this week's episode, Dave, Cate and Pete take you through: Weekly market updates 1. Labour shortage predictions As ABC News shared, Australia is looking at having over 100,000 vacant jobs in the construction sector, including builders, tradies and project managers. This is likely to have a big impact on the state and federal government planned projects as well as residential builds. This will most likely influence purchasing decisions as well, as people looking to extend or remodel may opt to purchase instead of waiting it out on a long construction waiting list. 2. Vacancy rates In the latest vacancy rates released by SQM research, 5five of our capital cities have vacancy rates below 1%, Brisbane at 1.4%, Sydney at 2.7% and Melbourne at 3.5%. Melbourne and Sydney have the highest vacancies, due to the languishing CBD rentals, which currently sit at 8.4% and 8.2% respectively. For the rest of Australia, the rental market is extremely tight, based on an industry accepted rate of 2% being seen as the equilibrium. Future overseas migration is expected to add further pressure to the rental market, creating a need for investors, (or government to apply considerable funding to public housing.) Top investment tips #1 1. How does your future home fit with your investment strategy? One of the biggest pieces of the puzzle, which is often forgotten about, is how your future home plans will fit into your investment pathway. Having a clear understanding of how your investment purchase could impact your ability to purchase your future home is critical. Many end up having to sell properties to secure their dream home and this is one of the biggest killers of wealth that we come across. Happily, this can all be avoided with some planning. 2. Removing shades of grey - home vs investment When purchasing a property, it's important to be clear on whether it's a home or a an investment. You will make it really hard for yourself and risk missing the mark if you conflate the two. When trying to overlay investment principles on a home, you may end up with something that you don't love and life is too short! 3. Set your money goals for surplus cash flow and available funds buffers To work out what is an ideal price range for a comfortable purchase that won't break the bank, you need a clear understanding of your cash flow and expenses. This is a difficult exercise in and of itself, however covid has added an extra layer of complexity as people aren't spending as much as what they typically would have. Go through your expenses and determine what your living expenses are likely to be post-purchase, you may even discover areas in your spending that you can improve on. Set money goals of what you would like your surplus cash flow and available funds buffer to be after the purchase, and this will help you determine what price point you can afford. 4. The traps of looking for a bargain Hunting for a bargain at the expense of quality is one of the biggest mistakes that you can make and finding a bargain on an A-grade property is a rarity. If you find that a property is priced on the lower end, you need to ask yourself why? Is the property compromised and how? In a strong market, don't expect to buy a bargain and remember, to secure a property, you need to be willing to pay more than anyone else! 5. What is your financial goal for the property? Determining whether you are targeting capital growth, yield or a balance of the two will feed into the location and dwelling type selection. This is...

https://propertyplanning.com.au/propertyplannerbuyerprofessor/ 1. How long has it taken property prices to double? After last week's show when The Property Buyer prodded for more retrospective data, the Property Professor shares his research in Part B of how long it's taken property prices to double for the previous decade, starting from March 2002. While Sydney took first place for the most recent 10 years, they are dead last for the previous 10, while Hobart takes the cake and required only 3 years to double in value during this particular decade. 2. September growth posts solid results amid an easing growth rate Australian housing values increased a further 1.5% in September, after 1.5% in August and 1.6% in July. Annual housing growth has finally cracked the 20% mark, with September's results pushing the annual figure to 20.3%, which is now the fastest pace since June 1989. 3. Perth and Hobart surprise Astonishingly, the Hobart unit market continues to surprise. Values in Hobart have risen 26.8% over the last year, while the unit segment has risen 31%. Perth has reappeared in CoreLogic data after a short hiatus while CoreLogic investigated some inconsistencies. Annual figures for Perth show 18% growth at the end of September, which is a large jump from the 10.8% noted in July's index results. 4. Rents continue to rise towards rental crisis The lowest performer in the rental market is Melbourne, which is up 4.1% for houses and still in negative territory for units at - 1.6%. Other capital cities record results of rental increases between 4% and 15%, while Darwin is at 21.2% increase in rents for houses and 20.3% for units. Some people may argue that we have a housing crisis on our hands. 5. The best cure for rising housing prices is rising housing prices The more house prices increase, the more unaffordable they become. By this fact alone, the rate of growth will slow down and we're already starting to see that. It's also another reason why we're seeing the value of unit growth converge again in line with house price growth, as people who are priced out of the housing market, turn to units. Other factors include the cost of funding for lenders increasing, which we will start to see through rising interest rates and also APRA intervention to slow down lending. If the RBA don't increase rates until the start of 2024, these factors will make it harder to borrow money and the property market will likely demonstrate an ease in the pace of growth in 2022. 6. Consumer confidence - time to buy a dwelling Overall, people still think that it's slightly a negative time to buy a dwelling, as the index reached 96.7 points in September, recovering from 88.9 in August. The Index is still 26.8% below its November peak of 132, but it is closer to the 100 mark, which suggests a more balanced view. WA is a stand out at 118.8, they are very optimistic about it being a good time to buy a property. Queensland is at 105, but Victoria is the lowest and the most pessimistic about the property market at 87.3. 7. Growing gap between Melbourne and Sydney medians Melbourne's median is only 73% of Sydney's. Melbourne didn't trade at all during lockdowns, except for those who were willing to purchase sight unseen. This disparity is likely to condense over time and we wouldn't be surprised if we saw this discrepancy tighten towards the end of the year and in the years to come. 8. Listings - new listings, total listings and monthly sales New listings and total listings have taken a dive. On the other hand, monthly sales relative to previous years is really strong, which is telling a story of enormous buye...

https://propertyplanning.com.au/propertyplannerbuyerprofessor/ In this week's episode, Dave, Cate and Pete take you through: 1. Heritage listing and heritage overlay The trio discuss the impact of heritage listings, which protect a particular property. Although the supply of heritage property is relatively limited, so is the demand, due to the restrictions in being able to renovate and update the look of the property. Heritage overlay on the other hand protects the consistency of the properties on a street, normally to preserve the charm and architectural appeal of a property in a place of historical significance. Heritage overlays are varied and the types of heritage overlays range from façade appearance to paint colours to specific attributes of heritage significance, such as chimneys and windows. Many heritage overlays are specific to particular streets and precincts too. 2. Council zoning and regulations If you're purchasing in a developer friendly zone and the houses in the street are 40 years old or more, then you need to consider the future impact this will have on the street scape. Council regulations can limit the amount of property that can be built on a block of land by setting a minimum site area. If the minimum site area is quite large, it will be very difficult to subdivide the land and there is little chance of developments in this area. 3. NIMBY suburbs - not in my backyard! The state government will give local governments targets on increasing population density. The approach taken by NIMBY suburbs will be to allow for high density dwellings on main roads and near transport hubs, rather than medium density in the streets. The drawcard of these suburbs is not to live in an apartment on the main road, but in a beautiful character home in the side streets. As character or period homes are no longer being built, they are in limited supply and, conversely high demand. OECD data has shown that Australian house values have experienced the fourth highest house price growth over the last 20 years because of development laws. 4. Purchasing a block with subdivision capability If you are not set on doing a subdivision, but would like the option to do it at some undefined time down the track, question whether this is the right strategy for you. If your block has the ability to subdivide, then the chances are that the rest of the houses on the street also do. This means that your street can turn into a medium density hot spot of renters and first time buyers, with lots of cars in the street and cheap built decaying units. If you are thinking of subdividing, then it's better to be the first on the street and not the 20th! And in a gentrifying area, a capital growth, buy and hold strategy can be optimized if you can pick the A grade street and watch it beautify over the years. 5. The population paradox On the macro or city level, you want to look at purchasing in a city that is attracting more people and experiencing population growth. On the suburb level, look for a stable population, because that implies that there isn't a high supply of new property. In NIMBY suburbs, there is a high level of demand, but supply remains the same. This is in contrast with new Greenfield estates, where the supply is great, and demand raises to meet the supply before more are built. This is also a skewed sector of the market, where demand could be artificially created by governemnt incentives and grants to purchase new property. And don't forget to consider the land to asset ratio! 6. Rural towns and infrastructure When comparing country towns, mains...

https://propertyplanning.com.au/propertyplannerbuyerprofessor/ In this week's episode, Dave, Cate and Pete take you through: Weekly market updates 1. APRA concerned over high debt-to-income lending, but no intervention for now Outstanding housing credit hit $1.9 trillion in June, which is 4.7% higher than 12 months ago. Compared with how the property market has moved in the last year, it doesn't seem too high. However, the June quarter saw a rise of high debt-to-income lending which is now at 21.9%, up from 15% two years ago. At the same time, lending with high loan to value ratios fell and interest only loans are the least in number they've been in the last two years. This indicates that we may be borrowing more, but not leveraging as hard and APRA doesn't believe lending standards are deteriorating. 2. Latest ABS stats on capital city property prices The ABS has released figures for the June quarter for the Residential Property Price Index, showing price increases of 6.7% over the last quarter for the combined capitals. This is the fastest rate of growth in any quarter since 2003. Over the last 12 months, values rose by 16.8%. Interestingly, capital city figures did not match CoreLogic's analysis in all cases which highlights discrepancies between data houses and the challenges of relying on data from one source. 3. The dangers of data delay Each capital city is exhibiting enormous growth runs, despite the pandemic. In Melbourne and Canberra, our ability to trade has been so restricted, that the only purchasers left in the market are those who are willing to purchase sight unseen or do video walk throughs of a property. This is a perfect illustration of data lag, as this won't flow through in the numbers until later. Location based factors that impact supply and demand 1. Access to public transport and shops Access to public transport is a key driver for demand and is increasingly important in larger cities. Access to shops is another key driver, although retail trade analysis shows that the larger the shopping centre, the further people are willing to travel to reach there. What we see now is that the desire to be close to shopping centres has been replaced with a desire to access local shops and nice cafes. Being within walking distance to your transport hub or local shopping precinct is a major draw card. 2. Quality schools Proximity to quality schools, particularly prestigious public schools where the perception is that your child will get a private school education at public school prices, is a major driver for many parents when picking a location. This greatly increases demand for properties that are within the zone of a public school or properties within 30 minutes commute of private schools. The Property Buyer shares a tip to do a cost benefit analysis, as many parents will pay extra to get in the zone of a public school, but maybe you'd be better off paying the private school fees and saving on the elevated purchase costs? 3. How close is too close? Being nearby to great amenities and services can greatly impact the desirability of a location, but being too close can be problematic. Train lines, rubbish tips, industrial areas, petrol stations and shopping precincts are just a few of the things that you need to be mindful of being too close to. Think about the noise, the people and the smells. Is the property too close for comfort? 4. Proximity to the CBD, are we at the beginning of a new era? The CBD apartment market has been one of the worst hit during covid, but will we see a permanent exodus from the CBD? The trio discuss the...

https://propertyplanning.com.au/propertyplannerbuyerprofessor/ Weekly market updates 1. How have two-bedroom, single fronters been impacted through covid? Cate shares an article she has recently written analysing the performance of 6 two bedroom, single front cottages across Melbourne. A lot of people have expounded the popularity of 3 bedroom houses in the wake of covid lockdowns (including us), however the demand for these smaller dwellings has been strong. Why is that? Visit the show notes to read the article. 2. Dangers of online mortgage calculators Dave shares the real-life examples that unsuspecting consumers have come across when using unreliable online mortgage calculators. In one particular example, a couple saw a differential of $160,000 between the online calculator and their credit assessed borrowing capacity, all because the online calculator didn't ask how many dependents they had. Other traps include not differentiating between variable incomes and purchasing in high-density post codes were income could be shaded to as low as 65%. The devil is in the detail when determining your borrowing capacity. Macro-economic factors that impact supply and demand 1. Why is supply and demand important? The Property Professor takes us through Economics 101 principles of supply and demand. These forces determine the price of any commodity. That is true of bananas impacted by cyclones, steel, cars, and of course, property! 2. Consumer confidence and the self-fulfilling prophecy of market sentiment A great influence on consumer confidence is security of employment. We are more likely to commit to a mortgage when we feel safe in our jobs, which results in more demand and property prices increasing. There was a big dip in consumer confidence from March to June in 2020, largely due to the uncertainty of covid and the economic impact. But when we saw that the sky was not going to fall in (thanks to Government stimulus and lenders offering repayment holidays), consumer confidence lifted and property prices started to increase again. If enough people believe that property prices will rise quickly, more people will jump into the market due to fear of missing out, thus increasing demand and therefore property prices - the self-fulfilling prophecy. 3. State of the economy, foreign investment and development When consumer confidence is high and jobs are secure, you get extra foreign investment pouring into the country when the economy is doing well. This goes towards development, whether commercial or residential, and drives business investment. This creates more jobs, lower unemployment and more money in the economy to go towards investing in assets. Employment and unemployment is a major consideration, with Melbourne now in it's 6th lockdown, the economy is impacted. But this will create opportunity on the other side, when life returns (somewhat) back to normal. So far, we are yet to see property prices negatively impacted by such concerns but we don't make assumptions in this unprecedented environment we're navigating. 4. The Wealth Effect driving spending When property values have increased, jobs are secure and confidence is high, people feel wealthier. The more wealthier you feel, the more you spend, which makes you happy and then you spend more! Government stimulus, cash flow boosts, lower interest rates and higher savings booming across businesses and consumers suggests that many people are feeling wealthier and are itching to spend. 5. Government assistance and stimulus The trio discuss the impact of government assistance and stimulus, which is often very targeted...

https://propertyplanning.com.au/propertyplannerbuyerprofessor/ In this week's episode, Dave, Cate and Pete take you through: 1. Victoria still trading despite lockdown Non-auction sales have risen to 1,028 over the week. Since listings have gone down, this indicates that older stock on the market is clearing and sales, (including online auctions) are going ahead in full force. Virtual open for inspections are occurring, where the vendor gives you a tour of their house and is actively involved in the selling process. Cate shares her tips on how to navigate this innovative way of inspecting property. 2. PIPA investor survey - where do you get your property investment education from? The #1 source for property investment education was from professional advisors, which is great news for all the Australian's who have been able to make smart property decisions. Second on the ladder was podcasts. Traditionally webinars and seminars were at the top of the list, now only making up 2% each, showing the extent of market disruption. The Property Professor was sad to say that only 4.5% of people get their education from books. 3. Value growth in August continues to lose steam, but still going strong Australian housing values increased a further 1.5% in August, showcasing an annualised rate of +18% pa which is still very high. But we've now had a five month trend of slowing growth, peaking in March at +2.8% and then easing month on month. We think this growth trend will continue. Over the last 12 months, we've seen +18.4% growth in property values and that will soon reach above 20%. 4. Stand outs for the month There is no end in sight for Hobart's growth, increasing in August by 2.3%, with Canberra hot on its heals with 2.2% growth. Over the year, Hobart has grown by 24.5% and boasting total returns of 30% when you factor in rent. In the above 20% club for annual growth is also Darwin 22%, Canberra 22.5% and Sydney who has just joined the party with 20.9%. Brisbane is not far behind on 18.3% and Adelaide at 17.9%. Stay tuned for next week's episode where Pete will reveal how long it's taken for each city to double in price. 5. What happened to Perth? It seems CoreLogic have been listening to our podcast, and is now trying to figure out why Perth growth has been lagging and have actually removed Perth from their daily and monthly indices. CoreLogic is now investigating a divergence in housing market measurements for Perth. Watch this space... 6. Rental growth drives forward with all capitals on an incline, except Darwin and Perth Darwin and Perth have led the capital cities in rental growth over the last 12 months, Darwin in particular increasing by 23% for houses and 21% for units. Melbourne is still in negative territory for units, however a sharp turn-around is visible from when the market bottomed out. The trio ponder the reasons behind the trending rise in unit rents. 7. New listings take a dive, should you hold off on making a purchase? Overall, listings fell nationally by 7.8%, largely due to the two biggest markets of Sydney and Melbourne taking a dive in listing volumes of -10.7% and -31.2% respectively. The Melbourne market has been largely affected by lockdowns and vendors electing not to sell, (or to delay their campaigns). But demand remains strong, largely driven by FOMO. We think the ratio of buyers to sellers will stay largely the same, even when more vendors come onto the market, as there are plenty of buyers who are also electing to wait it out. Waiting it out could be a good idea if you're not desperate to...