Results from Harcourts’ latest client surveys have revealed an increase in consumer confidence and general market stability across Australia.

The group’s February 2013 survey results reveal that over 25 per cent of people believe that property prices will increase over the next 12 months while a further 44 per cent believe that prices will remain stable over the next year.

Furthermore, the results suggest that the majority of properties are being priced in line with market expectations as close to 70 per cent of people said they spent around the same amount of money as they were expecting during their most recent property transaction.

Harcourts’ results also show that investors are making a return to the property market with over 30 per cent of people having purchased their most recent property for investment purposes.

Harcourts’ client survey is completed externally by over 1,200 respondents each month who have either bought…

Harcourts have reported an increase in the number of first home buyers across Australia.

Data from the group’s February 2013 client survey suggest that close to 25 per cent of respondents had recently made their first home purchase.

This is a noticeable increase on the February 2012 results when fewer than 17 per cent of respondents said they had recently purchased property for the first time.

Harcourts’ client survey is completed externally by over 1,200 respondents each month who have either bought or sold property through the group.

Sadhana Smiles, Chief Executive Officer of Harcourts Victoria, says these figures are positive and could indicate general market recovery.

“Low interest rates have made housing more affordable which is enticing first home buyers back into the market.

“First home buyers are crucial to market momentum. When they emerge in force, demand for lower-end properties soars and those who own and live in…

Earlier this month, Victorian Planning Minister, Matthew Guy announced the final details of the reform to Victoria’s residential planning zones.

Mr Guy announced another 60,000 blocks of land within Melbourne’s growth boundary will be released to the market before the end of 2014.

Further, the federal government is set to announce a $40 billion boost to the development sector with the launch of another 10,000 incentives under its National Rental Affordability Scheme (NRAS), designed to boost the construction of affordable rental housing.

The scheme aims to provide affordable rental accommodation at a 20 per cent discount to market rents, while property investors get an annual tax free incentive of just under $10,000, which is indexed each year to the rental component of the CPI.

Property investors can participate by buying an NRAS-qualifying house or apartment and receive the tax-free incentive in exchange for offering the 20 per cent rental discount.…

Around 3000 square metres of industrial land was bought or leased in Hamilton last year, a sign of strong growth in the city, commercial property experts say.

About 37,200 sq m of space was added to Hamilton’s industrial stock last year, an annual survey of industrial land compiled by NAI Harcourts and CBRE has shown.

In that time, overall vacancy levels dropped from 5.7 per cent in 2011 to 3.6 per cent, as about 3000 sq m of space was leased or bought.

“The city has a filling-up feel about it which is really good,” NAI Harcourts director Theo de Leeuw said.

“The filling-up is both owner-occupiers who are buying and taking advantage of the lower interest rate regime as well as tenancies expanding.”

De Leeuw said part of the growth was due to a squeeze on industrial space in Manukau and South Auckland which has seen a shift of…

Recent data suggests that Australia’s property market will start to recover throughout 2013 after months of stagnation.

According to the RP Data-Rismark January Home Value Index, the median prices rose in every capital city except Darwin in the first month of 2013.

Brisbane, Sydney and Perth are leading the housing recovery, with median increases of 2 per cent, 1.8 per cent and 1.7 per cent respectively, while national values rose 1.2 per cent for the month.

Additional data released by the Housing Institute of Australia and Australian Property Monitors also suggests a nationwide housing improvement.

Rob Forde, Chief Executive Officer of Harcourts New South Wales, is confident that these results will lead to a strong year within the property market.

“2013 has gotten off to a positive start and it is likely that this growth will continue throughout the year. This growth may even culminate in a full housing…

A two-speed property market is emerging across Australia as investors return to housing but cautious owner-occupiers and first home buyers continue to stay on the sidelines.

Housing finance commitments grew by just 0.1 per cent to 46,477 in October, the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported earlier this month.

However, lending to investors rose 5.5 per cent to $7.7 billion in October, building on an 8.8 per cent increase in September – the strongest back-to-back gains in more than five years.

The amount borrowed by property investors has now increased by 21 per cent since the start of the year, making it the fastest growth rate since January 2008.

The proportion of owner-occupier loans issued to first home buyers fell from 19.4 per cent in September to 18.7 per cent in October. Nonetheless, the total number of loans by first home buyers hit its highest level since December…

As 2012 draws to a close, many economists and real estate industry pundits are turning their attention to 2013 and what it might hold for the property market.

Since the start of December there have been several positive indicators with China’s economy picking up speed, capital investment plans in Australia’s resources sector accelerating rather than slowing as predicted and a further cut to interest rates.

Stuart Cox, Chief Executive Officer of Harcourts Western Australia, says these factors should lead to improved market conditions.

“There are prospects for strong growth from both inside and outside the Australian mining sector, signaling that the economy should bounce back strongly in the medium term,” Mr Cox said.

Although it is early days, the positive data has already been reflected in Harcourts’ recent sales figures with the group posting its best sales results in two years within its Australian and New Zealand operations.…

New data compiled by Harcourts Western Australia suggests that investors are out in force, reflecting the improved conditions within the state’s property and rental markets.

The data, gathered from a survey which was completed by almost 2,000 respondents who had either bought or sold property through Harcourts over the past 12 months, shows that over 31 per cent of respondents purchased their last property for investment purposes.

The survey also showed that over 30 per cent of people think that their next property purchase will be promoted by investment reasons.

A general degree of market confidence has returned to the market with over 45 per cent of people believing that property prices will remain stable over the next 12 months, while a further 22 per cent believe that property prices will increase.

Stuart Cox, Chief Executive Officer of Harcourts Western Australia, says there are a number of…

Perth’s rental market continues to tighten as investment conditions improve and stock levels decrease, suggests Stuart Cox, Chief Executive Officer of Harcourts Western Australia.

Recent figures released by the Real Estate Institute of WA show that the vacancy rate is sitting at just 1.8 per cent across Perth – well under the general equilibrium of 3 per cent.

The REIWA data also shows the number of properties on the market fell 14 per cent during the July to September 2012 quarter to 10,400 listings – down by 30 per cent over the last year.

“As stock levels fall and Perth’s population continues to grow, the impact on the city’s rental market continues to show in price growth and vacancy pressure.

“Median rents rose to $450 per week in the three months to August 2012 but have plateaued over the September quarter,” Mr Cox said.

Within Harcourts,…

Harcourts Proactive Results has continued to perform strongly, despite the challenging property market conditions.

Business Owner, John Kalaja says that the property market is in its first phase of recovery following the recent market slump.

“Although there has been little capital growth overall, property prices are starting to come back to where they were prior to the Global Financial Crisis and the 2011 Queensland Floods.

In recent months, Harcourts Proactive Results has re-sold several properties that featured no capital improvements and were originally sold during the height of the property market boom.

“We sold a property on Chermside Street in Highgate Hill in July 2010 for $790,000 – we re-sold the same property in October this year for $790,000.

“Another property sold on Drury Street, West End in December 2007 for $1.3 million which we re-sold in early October 2012 for $1.26 million.

“These sales, as well as…