Dropping property prices will open the door for more first-time home buyers looking to snap up a bargain in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
Sydney and Melbourne home values have been predicted to fall by 10 per cent by 2021, which would allow first home buyers in dozens of suburbs to avoid stamp duty.
In New South Wales first home buyers are not required to pay stamp duties on properties under 650,000, while in Victoria the threshold is $600,000.
The median price for an apartment in Sydney’s trendy inner-city Newtown (pictured) is expected to fall below $650,000 by 2021 to become an affordable option for first home buyers
Sales data analysis by realestate.com.au reveals prices in nearly 20 suburbs across Sydney are predicted to drop below the stamp duty exemption threshold.
The median unit price in Marrickville, Newtown, Alexandria and Strathfield is estimated to drop from the current $710,000 to well below $650,000.
Further south, suburbs such as Wolli Creek, Revesby and Padstow, along with Kirrawee and Menai in the Sutherland Shire are also tipped to become more affordable.
For those looking for a house, Liverpool, Smithfield and Green Valley in the city’s south-west are among the suburbs to fall under the $650,000 threshold.
In western Sydney, Granville, Woodcroft, Kings Park, Erskine Park and Llandillo would fall under the $650,000 median.
A big factor is that investors who previously drove up prices aren’t as active as they were before the pandemic.
Property prices are tipped to fall by 10 per cent. Pictured are new homes in western Sydney
‘As prices fall, there will be new opportunities for first homebuyers and they will benefit from the lack of competition,’ realestate.com.au chief economist Nerida Conisbee told the Daily Telegraph.
Starr Partners chief executive Douglas Driscoll added: ‘They are getting a huge amount of support, money is cheap to borrow, and there could be a lot more properties available.’
Melbourne’s median house price is tipped to drop $73,700 to $663,300 if the predictions of a 10 per cent decline are correct.
This would see the median price in 30 suburbs drop under $600,000 — the threshold for stamp duty exemptions in Victoria.
Ms Conisbee said first-home buyers were already ‘very active’, particularly in Melbourne’s west and outer-eastern outskirts.
Property prices in Melbourne (pictured) are also tipped to see a 10 per cent drop in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic
Kilsyth’s median would fall under the threshold with a $66,500 price drop, along with nearby Belgrave in the Yarra Ranges, according to new figures.
Suburbs such as Gembrook, Gladstone Park, Keilor Downs, Caroline Springs, Hillside, Sunshine West and Wandin North will also come into the mix as first homebuyer options.
‘It’d be an opportune time for any buyer who wants to a secure a property they might not have been able to afford earlier this year — especially first-home buyers who are more price sensitive,’ Cate Bakos buyer’s advocate Amy Lunardi told the Herald Sun.
Barry Plant Croydon agent Ben Leyden added: ‘Eighty per cent of buyers I’m speaking to are first-home buyers … looking to take advantage of the stamp duty exemption.’
More Melbourne suburbs are tipped to become more affordable options for first home buyers
In South Australia, the recent lockdown has seen a surge in city dwellers sick of the the hustle and bustle dream of escaping to coastal towns.
Port Elliot on the state’s Fleurieu Peninsula was the top coastal and country location typed into realestate.com.au for houses, followed by Goolwa Beach, Sellicks Beach, Middleton and Goolwa South.
All are within a 84 kilometre radius or one hour’s drive of Adelaide.
Port Elliot also joined Encounter Bay and Victor Harbor in searches for most in-demand coastal locations for units.
Mount Gambier in the state’s south-east topped the list for most in-demand country locations for units, followed by Berri in the Riverland region.
‘One of the challenges for young people living in capital cities is buying is really expensive. ‘Then you put a lot of money towards paying that mortgage off instead of spending on other things, like holidays and cars, that help the economy,’ Ms Conisbee told the Adelaide Advertiser.
South Australians want to get out of the big smoke in favour for a sea change at Port Elliot (pictured) on the state’s Fleurieu Peninsula