$5.381bn: Third highest year on record for total Tas home values

This was among the takeaways in the Real Estate Institute of Tasmania’s December quarter report and 2023 wrap-up, released Friday.

In the three-month period, 427 first-home buyers purchased property, which exceeded the previous quarter’s results by 19.6 per cent and the year-on-year figure by 13.9 per cent.

Investor sales have been almost absent from the market, but in December, 295 sales set the bar with the best quarterly result for 2023. Sales were up 17.1 per cent on September and 25 per cent higher than the previous year.

Interstate buyers bought 204 properties in December, the highest number of transactions of the year, which was up by 10.9 per cent compared to the September quarter. These buyers purchased at a median price of $620,000, with 24 buying properties worth $1m-plus.

However, the full year’s results did not mirror December’s figures.

While FHB recorded 1560 purchases, which was 1.2 per cent more than 2022, investor acquisitions were down by 34 per cent annually and by 56 per cent compared to 2021.

Interstate buyers also fell away. Their 768 sales were 25 per cent lower than the previous year and 43 per cent less than in 2021.

REIT president Michael Walsh described the December quarter’s results as “encouraging”.

He said it suggested that the property market’s conditions had stabilised and that there was opportunity available for those who wish to buy and sell.

“Every market including ours is cyclical … some normality has returned,” he said.

“I feel confident that things are looking up for 2024, and the prospect of interest rate decreases later in the year will only provide more confidence.”

REIT president Michael Walsh.

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In December, the state’s rental vacancy rate reached 1.9 per cent, with the report showing Hobart’s was 2.1 per cent, Launceston 1.8 per cent and the North West 2 per cent.

The typical rent for a three-bedroom house in Hobart was $530 per week, $470 in Launceston and $400 in the North West.

Mr Walsh noted that there remains an issue of “few availabilities” in the highly sought-after lower priced end of the rental market.

He said rental accommodation was increasing, which will help alleviate some of the stress within the market.

No.774 Sandy Bay Rd, Sandy Bay is listed with Peterswald for property at $1.995m-plus.

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Petrusma Property has No.72 Summerhill Rd, West Hobart for sale at “Offers over $1.95m”.

In 2023 Tasmania recorded 8795 property transactions, which was down by 10 per cent compared to 2022.

However, as expected, last year was the third-highest year on record for the total value of sales, which reached $5.381bn.

The number of $1m-plus home sales was down by 15.5 per cent annually, from 943 to 797 sales. Tasmanian buyers purchased 85 per cent of these properties.

In the December quarter, REIT stats show that statewide there were 173 $1m-plus sales, 12 $2m sales, five $3m, three $4m, and two in excess of $6m. 120 of the 173 were in the south of the state.

FAST FACTS

Greater Hobart house sales were up 2.1 per cent annually

Hobart’s median house price was $740,000, other dwellings $522,500

Launceston’s median house price decreased 5 per cent while North West grew by 0.9 per cent

Scottsdale recorded highest annual median price growth at 39.4 per cent

Acton Park was the December quarter’s most expensive suburb, $1.261m median house price

Queenstown was the cheapest at $220,000

Land sales down 32 per cent in 2023 compared to 2022

38 international buyers accounted for just 0.4 per cent of all sales last year

Source: REIT

Originally published at: https://www.realestate.com.au/news/5381bn-third-highest-year-on-record-for-total-tas-home-values/