Seven Weeks to Sell House
23 January 09It’s taking up to seven weeks to sell houses or units in Queensland, despite owners slashing asking prices by more than 15% in some cases.
RPData research analyst Cameron Kusher said new listings were well below the 12-month average of 1495. There are 1075 new listings in Brisbane this week, bringing the total number of houses on the market to 7547.
One homeowner in leafy Fig Tree Pocket slashed $100,000 from the original asking price of his house, but after months on the market it is still unsold. “We have lots of people looking, but no offers," the owner said.
A nearby house is now listed at $1.3 million, $200,000 less than its original asking price.
Low interest rates and growing rents have failed to inspire buyers and so far there has been no resurgence in transactions as the Brisbane region suffers a huge drop in the number of houses and units changing hands.
During the boom time of mid-2007 one of the most active suburbs, Forest Lake, recorded 183 properties sold in the three months to September. A year later in the three months to September 2008, there were only 109 sales - a drop of 40.4%. Overall during the two quarters the Brisbane local government area recorded a 21.4% decrease in house sale figures from 3361 to 2643, according to preliminary data from the REIQ.
Compare the six months to December 2008 from the previous six months and the outlook is more grim, with the number of house sales falling 36% from 6666 in the six months to June, 2008, to 4242 for the latter half of the year.
But some suburbs are still experiencing steady turnover.
Trendy Bulimba in Brisbane's inner east has recorded a decline in sales of only 8.7% over the two September quarters and median house prices during the periods have increased 11.5% to $900,000.
A rebound for the market is predicted in 2011.