Australia's home buying appetite looks to be on the rise again after a quiet couple of years.
In January 2024, the Westpac-Melbourne Institute 'Time to buy a dwelling index' sat about 40% below the long term average after undersupply drove prices up in 2023.
Since then though this index has risen 24.9%, with a 10.2% increase since December.
Prices dropped at the end of last year for the first time since January 2023, and with interest rate cuts on the horizon demand could re-ignite.
Ben Kingsley, property investment adviser and co-founder of money management platform Moorr, says budding home buyers should "get organised" now to be ahead of the curve.
"For home buyers...there's no doubt that sentiment is going to shift," he told the Savings Tip Jar podcast.
"For people thinking about getting into the market, one of my big tips is: let's get organised [and] lets get prepared, because if we can move before the masses we're not going to be competing [with] a lot more buyer competition.
"Move before the bulk of the market moves."
Buy the dip?
The CoreLogic Home Value Index (HVI) dropped 0.1% in December, the first monthly decline in almost two years.
Through the second half of 2024, growth throughout the nation slowed down as affordability issues hit demand while supply levels trended higher.
CoreLogic Head of Research Eliza Owen says while this might be the start of a 'cyclical downswing', it's likely to be a shallow one.
"The largest recorded decline in the national HVI was only -7.7% from October 1982 to March 1983," she explained.
"Sellers may be able to withhold their property from sale until values are rising, effectively restricting available supply during periods of price falls."
Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane and Darwin are all still seeing price increases, along with all of regional Australia except Victoria.
Property prices are now dropping in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra and Hobart.
However, Mr Kingsley said that while Australia's two largest markets are seeing a supply side "correction", Sydney and Melbourne could still see upward pressure in the coming months.
"Lower interest rates and confidence in jobs and the economy could push a little bit more demand in those particular markets," he told the podcast.
Home buyer checklist
Mr Kingsley said home buyers looking to get ahead of the curve should assess their finances and plans for the future.
"Think about what you can afford now, but also think about what some of your future plans are," he said.
"It's really important you can hold the property for the long term...property has really high buying costs and it's expensive to also get out."
He said its also important to "line the ducks up in the right order" rather than diving straight in to searching for your new home.
"Do your budget, work out how much you can afford on repayments, then work out your borrowing capacity then get your pre-approval, then go shopping," he recommended.
"If you do it the other way [finding property first]...all of a sudden you're scrambling, you've got lots of added stress, you haven't done enough research in terms of understanding the market.
"We like to think you can organise and plan yourself in a better order and then that'll make the process less stressful."
Read more: First Home Buyer Guides
Picture by Joel Henry on Unsplash
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