The property market in Melbourne is cooling and it should prick the ears of potential buyers with prices sliding, and according to the experts the key to making a good buy is all in the timing.
Angie Zigomanis from BIS Oxford Economics and AMP’s Shane Oliver told The Australian that timing was everything and so is paying the lowest price possible.
Mr Zigomanis said the apartments market should stay back amid high supply levels and tighter lending restrictions but it will be different depending on which city you are in.
“Some cities have hit a rock bottom and others will bump along for bottom for some time.”
“The supply peaks are happening now or over the next 12 months.”
The question of timing revolves around two main options, either buying right at the bottom of the market or waiting for an uptick to avoid a possible prolonged period of stagnation.
CoreLogic research head Tim Lawless said the right time to buy can depend on the type of unit you are buying.
“I would be urging some caution for someone buying off-the-plan,” he told The Australian.
“In a market where prices are falling, there is going to be a higher risk based on when the contract is signed and the settlement date.”
Buyers need to take into account of possible price swings in the two or more years it takes to build big apartment towers.
With population forecasts pitting Melbourne to become a city of seven to eight million in the coming years and affordability a big challenge, plenty of young Australians will be looking at apartments to break into the property market.
In Melbourne, things have been tough for the inner-city suburbs’ apartments with a flood of recent supply but the situation has been much stronger for owner-occupier grade blocks in the city’s middle ring.
Approximately 70,000 apartments in the inner city of Melbourne are due to be completed this year, under construction, being marketed, being approved or have plans submitted.
