Canberra market to slow further: buyer's agent
The Canberra market is likely to remain in a correction phase for the next two years before bouncing back, a national buyer’s agent has predicted.
Tony Barber from Prosperity Property Advisors foresaw the market continuing to slow in response to public sector cutbacks.
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“I think over the next year or two the market is going to flatten or correct a little bit more than it has so far as changes affect the housing market through the public service job cuts,” he said.
In his view, these conditions will be unfavourable for sellers, who will be forced to compete for buyers, but positive for those looking to secure a property.
“It’s going to be a buyer’s market with more opportunity for a little while,” he said.
However, he predicted the market would begin to flatten out, then start growing again as the public sector recovers.
“In a couple of years it will flatten out with people coming back on a contract basis into the public service, as we’ve seen with previous governments who have brought in job cuts,” he said.
“I think then it will pick up again.”
Overall, he described Canberra as a more “buoyant economy” than other cities within Australia.
“It doesn’t tend to take the lows and the highs as much as other cities. I think it will bounce back a little quicker than a lot of other areas,” he said.
He warned the most vulnerable suburbs were new developments in outer-lying estates.
“I think less people will be willing to pay the high price tag for land to build new in a correction cycle,” he said.
He singled out Gungahalin in Canberra’s north as being at risk of oversupply, particularly for houses or units.