Investors turn to Tassie
Investors turned to Australia’s cheapest property state to snatch some bargains over the June quarter.
Investor activity in Tasmania, although low compared to other states, has increased over the last quarter according to the Real Estate Institute of Tasmania.
You’re out of free articles for this month
To continue reading the rest of this article, please log in.
Create free account to get unlimited news articles and more!
Investors were responsible for 17 per cent of all sales in Tasmania over the June quarter, while first home buyers remained steady at 13 per cent and existing owners/sellers claimed the remaining 70 per cent.
Interstate and overseas buyer activity hit an all-time high with 324 out of the total 1,649 house sales made during the June quarter going to buyers outside of Tasmania – meaning for the first time ever interstate and overseas buyers contributed to over 20 per cent of sales.
Of those 324 interstate and overseas purchasers, REIT statistics show that 97 bought for investment purposes at a median price of $323,000.
The report said demand for rental properties is strong and rents have increased by 2.5 per cent to 3.0 per cent across all regions while vacancy rates remain steady.
The median house price for Tasmania fell 1.6 per cent for the quarter from $310,000 to $305,000 and the median unit price fell 3.7 per cent from $257,000 to $247,500.
Comparing this to other states, the median house price in Tasmania is just 41 per cent of the median house price in Sydney and 55 per cent of the median house price in Victoria.
Within the state, Hobart’s median house price fell from $382,500 to $376,500 while Launceston increased from $270,000 to $285,000 and the north west coast region increased from $240,000 to $246,500.
More stories:
8 steps to successful property investment
Market reacts to lending changes