Ray White Now February 2022

The pandemic rolls on, as does house price growth. While there’s been a lot of talk of a slowdown, there’s still very little evidence that it’s actually happening. In every capital city we saw better price growth conditions in the final quarter of 2021 than we did in the previous quarter. Nevertheless, this year’s different. Finance restrictions are now in place, there’s an affordability inquiry currently being undertaken by the Federal Government and a growing realisation that at some point, the days of very cheap finance are limited. We also have an election where housing may be a contentious issue. What seems to be the case is that price growth will continue, albeit at a slower rate than last year.

While price growth is slowing, rental growth will accelerate in many places in 2022. International borders reopening means that migration will start up again. People moving to a new city or region generally rent before they buy. For some places where rents have fallen considerably, such as high unit development areas, this will be good news. Less so for many regional areas where affordability is becoming problematic.

In this month’s Ray White Now we provide an outlook for 2022 for each of our capital cities and investigate whether now is a good time to sell. With rural property prices now at record levels, we also look at the state of the agricultural sector – whether you are looking for a sheep farm, cattle station or just a rural weekender, we outline the drivers of current market conditions. Finally, we take a look at many of the myths associated with commercial property, including a look at whether the demise of both office and retail tenant demand are overstated.

We hope you enjoy this month’s Ray White Now and we’re proud to be providing you with relevant, timely and interesting content and data in 2022.