ACTON Magazine Volume 81 - August 2013 | Page 2

What’s making news at ACTON! WHAT A YEAR IT’S BEEN 2012/2013 has been a fantastic year for the ACTON Group. The market made some massive improvements over the year and we welcomed several new offices - ACTON Coogee, ACTON Victoria Park, ACTON South East and ACTON Carine Glades. Our expansion is set to continue with the opening of a new office in the southern suburbs in the next few months. Auctions have played a greater role in the market this year, with ACTON seeing an increase of 63.87 percent in the number of sellers using the auction process. The demand for properties was highlighted in the number of properties being sold prior to auction (23.40 percent), with buyers deciding they didn’t want to risk waiting for the auction and facing competition for the property. ACTON Regions posted strong sales results month after month, with numbers rising each quarter. Sales for the June quarter were 52.02 percent higher than for the 2012 June quarter, while sales for the financial year were 49.49 percent higher than the 2011/2012 financial year. The last 12 months also brought a range of benefits for both buyers and sellers. At the end of last financial year, listings were close to 13,000. They fell over the first half of the financial year, but have been fairly stable between 8,000-9,000 for the last few months. This was great news for sellers as the reduction in stock increased competition among buyers and encouraged them to act. As a result properties are selling in shorter time frames, there is less discounting, and prices are showing some gentle growth. It has also been a positive year for buyers. Interest rates have fallen to record lows, making housing more affordable. Plus, prices have been very reasonable for a number of years and sellers are pricing to meet the market. Buyers are getting very good value for their money and are likely to do so for some time to come. First homebuyers in particular have been very active - the number of first-homeowner grant applications over the year to May rose 34 per cent, with about 5,000 more West Australians seeking to own their own property compared with the same time last year. This has paved the way for upgraders who are taking advantage of the excellent market conditions to buy a new home. In good news for tenants, the rental crisis appears to be over. The critical shortage of properties experienced at the start of 2013 has eased, in part as a result of some tenants choosing to buy their own home and more investors entering the market. Rental listings are up significantly on the same time last year, giving tenants more choice and reducing the pressure on rents. While rents are not expected to rise much further over the course of the year, investors can still receive very good returns, they just need to be market savvy - investing in in-demand areas, buying the type of property that appeals to tenants and, like sellers, pricing the property to meet the market. Overall it’s been a very good year, and we are feeling very confident for 2013/2104.