Tassie sets new record for total value of quarterly sales

Tasmania has recorded one of the strongest quarters for transactions on record with March reaching heights not seen since 2002. FULL REPORT HERE >>

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A TASMANIAN property market record has fallen with the state skyrocketing to $1.449bn in sales over the past quarter.

The previous high was set in December 2020 with $1.3bn in cumulative value, which at the time eclipsed its previous quarter at $1.13bn.

In its March quarter report, released today, the REIT revealed that there were 3205 property sales in the first three months of the year, which was among the best result for a quarter on record and heights not seen since 2002.

However, in a sign of just how far the market has grown, in 2002 the whole year of sales ticked over at $1.6bn.

The Real Estate Institute of Tasmania’s data found that the local market remains driven by Tasmanians who made 84.5 per cent of those 3205 purchases.

Battery Point, Hobart.

While median house prices rose across the state — 8.5 per cent in Hobart and 11.4 per cent in Launceston — it was the North West Centres that made the largest leap forward with a 28.5 per cent uptick over the previous quarter.

While stopping short of describing the market as “booming”, REIT president Mandy Welling said the results were “quite remarkable”.

“People sometime think that a bust follows a boom, but I don’t see a bust on our horizon at all,” she said.

“It’s likely that at some point our ever-climbing sales figures will stabilise … a levelling out of the market would make sense, but not a drop.”

REIT President Mandy Welling at Hobart. Picture: Chris Kidd

For Tasmanians positioned to sell property assets, the continued growth comes as good news, but the same can’t be said for young buyers trying to get on the property ladder.

The report found first-home buyer sales were on par with the same quarter last year — about 15 per cent of all sales — however there was a 4 per cent increase in FHBs looking to buy new or established homes.

Mrs Welling said this could be attributed to young buyers looking to take advantage of government grants.

“It would be fantastic to see some sort of incentive rolled out from here. At this time, it seems like that type of help would be the only way first-time buyers could get into the market.”

Devonport CBD development sites. Knight Frank

Investor activity in March was similar to the previous year’s results at 17.5 per cent of sales but still well below the 21-23 per cent that was recorded in 2018.

Rents have increased across the state by between $5 and $30 per week compared year-on-year.

At just 1.3 per cent, Launceston’s vacancy rate was the lowest the REIT has on record.

West Hobart.

At the top of the market, there were 144 sales in excess of $1m, up 161 per cent year-on-year.

Battery Point, Sandy Bay and West Hobart had median prices above $1m in the quarter.

Foreign buyers accounted for only 14 sales.

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