Since opening our Display Home in the Sovereign Hills display village at the end of January 2018 we have seen in excess of 6000 visitors, which has certainly exceeded our expectations.
Display Homes attract a cross section of visitors, from those filling in their weekends to renovators and of course those looking to build a new home. Whatever the reason for the visit we have been overwhelmed with the positive feedback. Thank you to all.
So what’s happening in the new home market?
The latest update from the “Housing Industry Association” reports a reduction in NSW new home sales for the 2017/2018 financial year of 13.3% compared to the previous year. In saying this the financial year ended with a positive as the association reported 8.3% increase for the month of June compared to the previous month, which as they stated was a welcome reprieve.
The reason for the national slow down can be attributed to a number of factors including a shift in the property market in general and the tightening of credit availability by lenders, especially to investors.
The HIA were also quick to point out that even after the reported slow down over the last 12 months, overall building activity remains elevated compared with building levels over the past decade.
The Port Macquarie Hastings region continues to experience a steady flow of new land releases to meet the demand in the market for housing. Building activity in the Lake Cathie Bonny Hills estates, Ascot Park in Port Macquarie as well as Sovereign Hills, which has now commenced construction on their town centre are certainly clear examples of the regions continued intense building activity.
We may see a slow down or a levelling out when it comes to land sales in our region however we do at times seem to be a little more resilient to the market due to our high migration rates. Port Macquarie Hastings population now stands at just over 81,000 which is a growth of around 13% over the last decade. This growth obviously continues to drive the need for new housing in our region.
Port Macquarie Hastings Council approvals for new houses was 448 for the financial year to the end of April 2018 (10 months) compared to 496 for the previous 12 month period. We can realistically assume that the full 2017/18 approvals to be similar or even marginally higher than the previous year’s figure. These figures are more than double of those back in 2010/11.
With our new home consultants, Bobbi and Tina continuing to welcome new clients into our display, we are confident that building activity will, at the very least continue at a steady pace over the next year.
