Hobart was Australia’s best performing city for profit-making home sales in the March quarter.
HOBART has led the nation with the highest portion of profit-making property sales in the March quarter, defying COVID-19 downturn forecasts.
Only 2.4 per cent of homes sold in the greater Hobart municipalities fetched less than the previous times those properties changed hands, the latest Pain & Gain report from CoreLogic revealed.
That figure was up marginally from the December quarter results and in line with the southernmost capital city’s continued property value increases.
The Hobart council area was the city’s best performer, closely followed by Kingborough.
In Hobart 99.4 per cent of sales were at a profit and in Kingborough the figure was 99.1 per cent. In Glenorchy and Clarence, a stitch over 97 per cent of sales made a profit.
Hobart also recorded the highest median profit at $315,625 and the highest total value of profit at over $129 million in the three-month period.
Eliza Owen says Hobart home values increased amid COVID-19.
CoreLogic head of research Eliza Owen said it was worth noting that through the quarter, property values continued to increase despite the significant impact of COVID-19 on the local economy and rental markets.
Ms Owen said while it was likely that prices and profitability will fall across Hobart in the coming months, there were a couple of bright spots that may continue to support growth in the market as a “best case scenario”.
She said rent value declines had not fallen as far in Hobart as they have in other cities and that yields were still fairly strong.
“This may continue to attract investors, despite the temporary hardship in the market,” she said.
“Additionally, the reopening of interstate borders, with the exception of Victoria, may allow more Airbnb owners to re-list their property in the short term rental accommodation market, which could serve to tighten rental market conditions again in the coming months.”
Across greater Hobart, over $409 million worth of homes were sold in the quarter, the report showed.
“Remarkable results,” says Real Estate Institute of Tasmania president Mandy Welling.
Real Estate Institute of Tasmania president Mandy Welling said the results represented “figures beyond our comprehension”.
“By no means are we out of the woods with variables at play such as the possibility of the loss of JobKeeper,” Mrs Welling said.
“This could heavily impact homeowners and tenants.
“An influx of homes put to market could potentially saturate our market and bring it to a halt.”
Mrs Welling said steadfast governance and management of COVID-19 had created a moderate security blanket across the state and contributed to the report’s positive figures.
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She said Hobart was still a viable investment option with the slight decline in rent values not a concern as this part of the market tends to fluctuate.
“This downshift could easily change with Airbnb properties returning to the short stay market,” she said.
PAIN & GAIN MARCH QUARTER
Percentage of profit-making sales, median profit, total value of profit
Brighton 93.5% $180,125 $18,774,134
Clarence 97.2% $213,000 $94,181,516
Derwent Valley 95.6% $147,000 $15,621,200
Glenorchy 97.1% $199,500 $56,942,700
Hobart 99.4% 9.7 $315,625 $129,189,626
Kingborough 99.1% $255,000 $68,006,296
Sorell 95.4% 9.2 $208,139 $26,955,127
Source: CoreLogic
