April delivered a month of prestigious sales and premium results amid the the talk of interest rates and an election.

In terms of sales volumes and dollar value, BresicWhitney exceeded the numbers seen in April 2021. Despite last month’s holidays weekends (with just one 5-day week), buyers continued to be drawn to Sydney real estate.

At the higher end of the market, we saw monumental transactions including numerous suburb records, with notable sales between $5 million and $11 million.

View: April sales from $5 million to $11 million.

With the RBA just announcing cash rates will go up by 25 basis points, most buyers had already factored future rises into their buying patterns.

The rate was lifted this afternoon from the all-time low of 0.10% to 0.35%.

 

BresicWhitney CEO Thomas McGlynn says this dynamic helped the market perform a lot better than most people anticipated.

“Interest rates were always going to go up at some stage, and people know they have to deal with this in their future plans,” Thomas says.

“There has been plenty of adjustment in terms of overall expectation, and people have been viewing the market through a different lens for some time.

“Even now with dynamics we don’t always see, including an upcoming election, there are still pockets of our market that are performing very well.”

BresicWhitney sold 93 homes with an average sale price of $2.2 million.

 

April saw one major trend continue with people looking for homes that are completely finished and move-in ready. With renovating reported to be both a costly and lengthy exercise in 2022, buyers were concentrated on turn-key properties with nothing left to spend.

56 Watkin Street, Newtown sold at auction for $5.87 million and set a new price record for the suburb.

3 Watson Street, Putney set another suburb record for a non-waterfront home. A modern build of high-end standards, it was one of those luxurious homes that attracted people looking for brand new quality.

More than 200 people attended that public auction, with 6 bidder registrations – quite notable for such a high price point.

Some of the biggest sales we’ve seen in some time came via Eastern Suburbs buyers, including one design showpiece of exceptional scale at 11-13 Roylston Street, Paddington, sold for $10.75 million.

April showed us that regardless of whether rates were going to go up or stay the same, Sydney has different dynamics to contend with, and serious buyers have always done some level of due diligence.

BresicWhitney COO Will Gosse said the current buyer pool was made up people buying more for lifestyle and less for investment.

“As we move through these unique market periods, most notable prices are driven by people who are looking to upsize, downsize, or changing up their home life because of other drivers and family dynamics.

“They’re less concerned about external month-to-month dynamics and are still looking for homes regardless of future rate rises, government and external influences.

“Our most successful campaigns in April were driven by those buyers.”

See all sold homes here.

In good news for rental investors, our vacancy rate continues to sit at an all-time low of 1%.

As the media has been noting, we’re experiencing an uplift in prices for certain properties. For those looking for rental homes, we’ve returned to a competitive market and a dynamic we haven’t seen in a few years.