When to buy in SYDNEY northern beaches?????

Hi Mali
To give you some idea listings are certainly up in most NB suburbs for the last 3 mths compared to the June-Aug period, providing you with more choice and therefore less competition.

For eg in Newport housing there were only 6 listings June-Aug compared to 51 currently on the market for the last 1/4 (note these figures are taken from RPData and APM as not all properties are currently advertised on RE and/or Domain)

Days on market (DOM) average ie: the number of days property takes to sell is another statistic well worth considering to gauge what a market is doing. Currently for Manly it's 22 days however for Newport it's 43 days, so this is an obvious indicator of demand for particular areas.

Monitoring the market is always advised however sometimes "waiting" for the right opportunity can pass you by if you're not a genuine buyer or in the right mindset to purchase. I completely understand where you're coming from, however, and renting whilst searching is certainly a low-pressure position to be in, so best of luck locating something in the coming months.

 

All I can say...is look at what happened to the NB beaches during difficult economics times....it takes a battering....my personal view is no rush...despite what some say on this forum.

 

257 Whale Beach Road is a knock-down and rebuild job, and was originally on the market at $4.7 million in July. It failed to sell at auction a few weeks back, and the asking price is now $4.5 million.

A few doors down 229 Whale Beach Road is on the market at $4.85 million. It's in better condition than number 257, but on a smaller plot. It also looks like it was originally a similar design, but has been badly extended.

Back in February, 261 Whale Beach Road sold for $5.5 million. It's a much larger house on a larger and wider block than the above. I've marked the positions and approximate boundaries of both in the below photo.



And just around the corner, 279 Whale Beach Road sold for $5.8 million, having both a larger house and plot than any of the above.

Number 279 is 343 m2 internally, which would equate to build costs of around $1 million. I couldn't see any profit in redeveloping 229 or 257, which leads me to conclude both are way overpriced.

So what does this have to do with timing?

The vendors of numbers 229 and 257 strike me as being optimistic, the fact that the latter has been for sale since July would support this. If the Sydney market was increasing at 15% to 20% per year then eventually growth would meet expectations, and someone would buy the place.

So in a boom it might make sense to get in, particularly if you think that valuations are sustainable.

But Sydney's prices have come off the boil. There was a slight decline last month, and that's in the middle of the peak buying season. In which case 229 and 257 are only going to sell if the vendors get more realistic. This might take some time, as house prices tend to be very sticky.

Waiting until the middle of next year might not be a bad strategy, particularly since property tends to be cheaper in winter.

Of course if things go full Doom and Gloom then you're better off waiting four or five years, and picking up the pieces left in the wreckage...

I'd personally be tempted to rent for the next six or twelve months to see which way the market is headed, particularly as the boom seems to be over. Renting is generally cheaper than buying, so it's a relatively cheap option if you want to take a position on the market.

 

Asking Price Reductions in Terrey Hills

I’ve been looking to buy and sell in Terrey Hills (yes we call ourselves part of Northern Beaches) and have been closely watching the market for the last 2 years. We sold in May and are renting, waiting to buy when the right house comes along.

At Xmas each year I get a sales summary brochure in my letterbox from the two local agents. Last year it stated that there were approx. 30 something sales in TH (it’s a tiny suburb). IIRC approx. 26 of them were suburban houses and the rest acreages. I remember thinking that’s only about 2 suburban house sales per month. At any one time an average of 2 suburban houses would be listed on Domain or Realestate websites with the maximum I have seen at any one time of 4.

Prices have risen strongly over the last 18 months. And many more houses have been listed and sold this year than last (don’t know actual figures).

This year properties have moved very quickly and for high prices. I would regularly get emails from the two agents declaring that homes had been sold in 4 days, 1 week, 2 days, before first open etc.

Right now there are 9 suburban properties listed on the websites for sale in TH (last week 10+). Many of these have been listed for 3,4,5 weeks. Sales seem to still be happening, just not as quickly and not for silly prices. This has only happened in the last couple of months.

I have had two emails in the last two days from one of the agents detailing asking price reductions for 2 different properties.

So listings are at 3 to 4 times average, longer times on market and first asking price reduction emails in 18 + mths. Make of it what you will.

 

How safe are Sydney beach side suburbs if Tsunami hits?

 

.....,,Wipe out...

A bogan on the insular peninsular!

I could start with a studio.

I recall that there is a monstrous unit complex in Manly. I think there are hundreds of units in the complex. Probably built in the sixties or seventies. Imagine this could be an entry point to the area.

 

Hi @timetoact, I'm looking at Eastern suburbs too.