Canberra house buying enthusiasm dampens

The number of Canberrans who think now is a good time to take the plunge into the housing market has dropped by five per cent from a year ago. 

The finding is in line with a fall in buyer confidence across the country in the last quarter.

Just 65 per cent of people in the ACT who responded to the latest RP Data consumer market sentiment September survey said now was a good time to buy, compared to 70 per cent in October 2013.

Nationally, confidence also fell. In the September 2014 quarter, 66 per cent of respondents felt that now was a good time to buy a property or home, down from from 71 per cent over the June quarter.

Confidence was strongest in Tasmania, where all respondents tipped the current period as a good time to buy, closely followed by South Australia at 80 per cent, regional Queensland at 79 per cent and Western Australia  at 75.9 per cent.

Just 52.8 per cent of Sydney respondents and 60 per cent of Northern Territory respondents felt now was a good time to buy. 

The survey also found optimism about selling a home did not match beliefs about buying, with fewer  respondents believing now was a good time to sell.

In the ACT, 40 per cent of those in responding to the September 2014 survey believed now was a good time to sell, an increase on the 35 per cent who felt the same way in October 2013. 

The current figures compared to 78 per cent of Sydneysiders and 66 per cent of Melbournites who would sell now.

Nationally, just 12 percent of those responding believed house prices would fall, with 45 per cent thinking they were likely to increase and 43 believing they would remain stable.

RP Data’s senior research analyst Cameron Kusher said he was not surprised by the results.

“Most respondents still felt as if it is a good time to buy property, although with the current growth period having run for so long, it isn’t a surprise to see a slight fall in the proportion of respondents who think now is a good time to buy,” he said.

The survey polled 1021 Australian residents.