TAMWORTH is on track to produce its best real estate sales record in five years, if the figures from the last six months are anything to go by.
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Real estate agents reported a surge in sales up to June 30, with one senior industry figure predicting the city could break its own records.
According to Richie Thornton, the president of the Tamworth Association of Real Estate Agents, the 2340 postcode area recorded 793 sales for the first half of the year.
The average house price was $352,030 which agents say indicates Tamworth is an ‘affordable place to live’.
“If you pro-rata that out for the rest of the year, with almost 800 sales… if the second half of the year is the same, it would work out around 1600 for the year,” the LJ Hooker principal said.
“If that happens, it would be the best year in transactions for the last five years.”
Mr Thornton said there was currently more demand for homes in Tamworth than there was supply.
“If supply goes down and demand doesn’t, it’s also an ingredient for prices to start improving,” he said.
“It’s a combination of things, there seems to be a lot of people who want to be secure and know where they’re going before they sell their current house. That’s one theory.
“The other could be lifestyle programs and showing people how they can renovate their current homes, and the other is people are taking the opportunity to pay down their debt while the interest rates are low.
“It could be a mixture of all those things as to why listings are down.”
Mr Thornton said he didn’t see the situation “dramatically changing”.
“Because you’ve also got stamp duty exemptions for first home buyers, it will give that end of the market a kick,” he said. “If first home buyer activity increases it should mean we should end up with at least that figure of 1600 (sales) or if not a bit better.”
Mark Sleiman of PRD Tamworth described the first half of the calendar year in sales as “excellent”.
“It has been very, very busy, but I feel like this second half will continue at the same rate as it has done in previous years,” he said. “Tamworth usually averages about 1200 sales a year, I think we are going to beat that, but I don't know if it will be 1600. I’m really positive about the future here in Tamworth, I think it’s going to be a good one.”He urged people to ask for advice.
“Having the right agency and the best advice is crucial because every property is different. We traditionally hear people say they’ll wait until spring, but there is less stock on the market in winter than most months,” he said. “It all comes down to supply and demand, if there is less supply, you’ve got a better chance of getting a result on your property in winter than waiting for spring, when there’d be double the properties on the market.”
