State of Markets – TAS February 2012

Fast Figures

• $221,000 – median house price, South Launceston
• 11.49% – annual average growth, Hobart
• 6% – gross rental yield (units), South Launceston

Hobart house prices to rise 3pc
Hobart house prices are set to grow by between 0 per cent and 3 per cent in 2012, according to Australian Property Monitors (APM).

Strong economic grow brought on by the mining boom and renewed consumer confidence will revive a number of markets across the nation, including modest growth for Hobart, APM senior economist Dr Andrew Wilson said.

“Hobart’s housing market has retreated in 2011 with median house prices down by just over 3 per cent for the year,” Mr Wilson said.

“Although this is a reasonable performance compared to some of the other capitals, a revival in buyer activity in 2012 is heavily dependent on a lift in the local economy,” he said.

“With no direct exposure to the resource sector, the Tasmanian economy is set to continue to meander in 2012. As a consequence buyer confidence will remain subdued and house price growth will be flat for most of 2012."

Holiday renting popular in Tasmania
Property buyers planning to invest in holiday rentals should look to Tasmania, a new report shows.

Tasmanians are more likely to seek out an apartment or holiday house than holidaymakers from any other state.

Almost 80 per cent of Tasmanians surveyed in the Stayz ‘Holiday Habits Report’ identified their preferred holiday accommodation as a rented holiday house or apartment.

Domestic holiday travel and accommodation expenditure increased in the September 2011 quarter in seven of the capital cities, most notably in Hobart (by 4.2 per cent), according to ABS.