Angela Rudling from Bayleys Howick, backed by her team of professionals’ comments on the current market and outlook for 2024.
Many people are talking about the predictions for this year’s housing market, with the subject of affordability often at the top of the agenda.
Confidence is returning to the market says Angela, after the recent change in government and the settling of interest rates, along with the OCR (Official Cash Rate) predicted to remain fairly static in the earlier part of this year.
We have seen the reemergence of developers, looking for opportunities once again in our local area, and a small number of investors heading back into the market, especially since the announcement of the Bright Line Test being reduced back to two years recently, with an immediate effect.
There is talk within the industry that banks may review and reduce interest rates this year, however, we have only recently seen a small glimmer of hope of this happening, as random ‘lower’ rates have been offered for a short period to encourage borrowers to take the plunge. There has not been any clear indication that all banks will follow suit.
We do know however that rental properties are few and far between, and if anyone is wondering if a rental investment is a sound choice, then please do not hesitate to call for a frank discussion on this subject. The lack of local rental properties available and the continued capital growth along with modest annual returns, should give anyone in a position to buy an investment property something to seriously consider.
Looking ahead, we see more confidence and believe this will have an extremely positive effect on the housing market, as we move forward this year.
