Recently released figures from RP Data suggest that housing market sentiment could be heading north.
According to a consumer sentiment survey carried out by RP Data and online survey firm Nine Rewards in the first week of March, 80 per cent of consumers believe that now is a good time to buy a home. These results were an improvement on the 76 per cent of survey respondents who, last October, said that it was a good time to buy property.
The report revealed that 38 per cent of survey respondents expect house prices to rise over the next six months, while 51 per cent predict price increases over the next 12 months.
Commenting on the report, RP Data's National Research Director, Tim Lawless, said, "The results revealed distinctive differences from region to region where, as an example, 60 per cent of respondents in Perth expected prices to rise over the next six months, whereas Tasmania delivered a much more sedate reaction of only 30 per cent.
"As consumer confidence in housing market conditions rises, we are likely to see a larger number of dwelling sales as the year progresses. Transaction data from last year was already showing an improvement in home sales, with 7.6 per cent more homes transacted over the second half of 2012 compared with the first half."
The report detailed factors that consumers are likely to consider when purchasing a property. Over half of the survey's respondents said that personal financial situations are the most important factor, followed by capital growth in the housing market (20 per cent) and interest rates (12 per cent).
Encouragingly, only eight per cent of respondents expected house prices to fall over the coming twelve months.
"If the survey responses are anything to go by we should see a continuation of this trend through 2013," concluded Tim Lawless.
For more information about the residential property market in your areas of interest, please feel free to stop by your local Century 21 Real Estate office for expert and clear advice.