Property sales plummet in WA, Qld
Despite recording unprecedented property price growth in recent years, Western Australia and Queensland failed to strike a chord with buyers over the 2010/11 financial year.
The latest statistics from RP Data found Western Australia experienced a 22.6 per cent drop in the total value of dwelling transactions last year, while Queensland suffered a 27.5 per cent decline.
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Total dwelling sales over the 2010/11 financial year equated to $193.5 billion.
RP Data’s research analyst Cameron Kusher said while it may sound impressive, the total value was actually the lowest over a financial year since 2008/09, and the total value fell by 18.2 per cent from the previous financial year.
Houses accounted for $141.8 billion and units for almost $51.7 billion with total house sales now worth almost three times as much as that of unit sales.
Mr Kusher said that by looking at the annual change in annual dwelling sales based on total value compared with the annual volume of dwelling sales, we can clearly see that these two measures almost move in perfect unison.
“For the 10-year analysis, the correlation between the two is 95.2 per cent and shouldn’t come as a surprise because sales volumes are currently sitting at a similar level to what was recorded during the depths of the financial crisis. It is no wonder that many property professionals are experiencing financial challenges,” Mr Kusher said.
The results also reveal that transaction volumes have consistently been a key driver of the total value of sales; however, the value at which properties are transacting has become just as important according to Mr Kusher. This is demonstrated by the fact that annually, the number of home sales has returned to levels not seen since June 1997 while the total value of sales remains slightly higher than what was recorded during the depths of the GFC.
