Sadly, reporting on another rate rise is almost blase at this point. There is a degree of relief that the RBA has once again seen a quarter of a percent as sufficient but few punters would bet against further rises to come, even if they were lucky on the horses this week (or nabbed a share of the $160 million).
On a more positive note, despite widespread reporting of a national pullback on property prices (not helped by the RBA’s prediction of a 20% drop), Cairns continues to track well, with prices remaining steady over the past few months, maintaining a circa 10% increase since October last year.
Rapid interest rate rises have certainly had their impact in pulling back the rate of growth enjoyed by property owners but in the context of Sydney and Melbourne, which have seen drops of 5 and 4 percent respectively IN THE PAST QUARTER there isn't too much to complain about here. The combination of higher prices and higher interest rates will combine to put a dampener on further price rises in the market for established homes, but with rental yields high, vacancy tight and new construction still slow, supply and demand should remain positive.
For sellers looking to make their move before Christmas, with calendars ticked over into November, the time to get on market and settled in time for Santa really is now. Time on market is stretching slightly (though still swift) but paperwork will be the killer, with banks slowing by the start of December and most legal firms finishing up in the week prior to Christmas.
There is still time to secure a contract (and in fact this time of year can yield some stellar results), but it might be worth keeping an eye on relevant dates once a deal is done. A 4 week finance period for a contract signed on the 28th November is effectively going to go through to the New Year, with settlement similarly protracted. Be conscious of this upfront, and avoid committing to a move between public holidays - while its technically possible given a friendly conveyancing team, there are a lot of moving parts and trying to line people up (banks, lawyers, removalists etc.) might be more trouble than anticipated.