Property sales surge in Darwin, Palmerston by 20 per cent

A SIGNIFICANT spike in recent buyer activity around Darwin and Palmerston will foster positive growth in the Top End’s housing market, real estate professionals say

Darwin’s Jennifer Grant is one of many Territorians who has taken advantage of the city’s affordable housing prices and purchased property recently. Picture: Katrina Bridgeford

A SIGNIFICANT spike in recent buyer activity around Darwin and Palmerston will foster positive growth in the Top End’s housing market, real estate professionals say.

According to Darwin real estate group Raine and Horne, the conversion rate of buyer inquiries to property sales in the city has increased by 20 per cent over the past two months.

READ MORE: DARWIN HOUSING PRICES FORECAST TO RISE 6 PER CENT

Raine and Horne Darwin general manager Glenn Grantham said there has been an upturn in the number of inquiries converting to sales, with latent markets such as Palmerston and Darwin CBD apartments attracting more buyers.

“The northern suburbs continue to be attractive to buyers, but the housing market in Palmerston and sub $400,000 apartments in the inner city are back on the radar of owner-occupiers and investors,” he said.

“The surge in sales is due to a higher level of committed buyers.”

While he could not comment on conversion rates, REINT chief executive officer Quentin Kilian said anecdotal evidence suggested demand is picking up for property in the Territory’s capital.

“Leading agencies in Darwin are telling me they are getting a lot more inquiries,” he said.

“A lot of it is first homebuyer activity because the prices are at such a premium level and we’ve still got low interest rates.

SUBSCRIPTION OFFER: ENHANCE YOUR LIFESTYLE WITH FITBIT SMARTWATCH

“There’s still a lot of stock out there that is extremely well priced and by well priced, I mean prices we haven’t seen since the start of the decade.”

Mr Grantham said he’d also started receiving inquiries from international investors for the first time in around seven years.

“Investors recognise that the affordability of the Darwin CBD apartment is appealing, coupled with rental yields of 6-7 per cent that aren’t available in the southern capitals,” he said.

Darwin’s Jennifer Grant is one of many Territorians who has taken advantage of the city’s affordable housing prices.

DON’T MISS OUT: AMAZING NEW FITBIT SMARTWATCH OFFER WITH NT NEWS SUBSCRIPTION

Earlier this month, Ms Grant decided to purchase a one-bedroom apartment in Stuart Park as it was “very good value for money”.

“I looked at other suburbs but I wanted to live close to the city and Stuart Park was very affordable – I certainly scored myself a bargain,” she said.