Cash-strapped South Australians are rushing to sell their homes after the Reserve Bank’s latest interest rate hike but falling property prices have dealt them yet another blow, a real estate agent says.
Anex Real Estate sales specialist Nick Raval said many clients had acted in the days leading up to the most recent widely anticipated interest rate rise, signing up to sell their homes before the rate change was even announced.
In the days that followed, more had made the decision to sell, conceding they could no longer afford growing mortgage repayments, Mr Raval said.
Anex Real Estate sales specialist Nick Raval. Supplied
“Oh my god, the number of new properties (listings) coming to market – people are saying, ‘I can’t continue holding, I will have to sell it right now’,” he said.
“Everyone (vendors) is panicking.
“It (the mortgage repayments) is too much (to afford), absolutely.
“And if you look (at who is selling), it’s not just the first time (home buyers), it’s the investor mum and dads right through to developers … telling me, ‘I’m not building anymore. I’m not doing any more development’.”
Among Mr Raval’s recent listings is a three-bedroom home at 19 Jakara Avenue, Ingle Farm, marketed as the “bargain of the year”.
19 Jakara Ave, Ingle Farm. Supplied
The home is close to handy amenities. Supplied
The property offers potential. Supplied
On a corner facing block, with potential for subdivision, the listing notes the “motivated vendor” has instructed that the 685sqm property “must be sold at auction”, with Mr Raval confirming the owner had been hit hard following the fourth interest rate rise this year.
A price guide for the home is set to be released in coming days, Mr Raval said.
With Adelaide’s median house value dropping 0.5 per cent – or $13,000 – last month alone, Mr Raval said the expectation from vendors about what their properties could fetch was often far from reality.
He said a new home he recently listed had cost his vendor $950,000 to build but, after being passed in at auction, eventually sold for $875,000.
The home’s neat interior. Supplied
It’s ideal for a family. Supplied
Another home received just a single bidder at auction and was also passed in, with Mr Raval struggling to get vendors to accept the falling market.
“It’s true, (property values) have been wiped out already,” Mr Raval said.
“People think house prices always go up – there’s even agents that promise that house prices will never go down.
“But look at what’s happening in Melbourne (where house prices have dropped to 2021 levels) – I think we will (end up) worse than Melbourne.”
REISA CEO Andrea Heading. Supplied
Real Estate Institute of SA chief executive officer Andrea Heading said it was too early to determine whether the most recent interest rate rise had caused an increase in the number of homes being sold.
She said demand for homes still outstripped available supply and, while auction clearing rates may have fallen recently, those properties were still being sold by negotiation after.
