Laing and Simmons principal Chris Koch says increasingly Port Macquarie locals are missing out on house purchases due to overwhelming interest coming from Sydney.
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“It does make it hard for a local to sometimes compete,” Laing and Simmons principal Chris Koch said.
Clients of Laing and Simmons are becoming frustrated because they are getting sick of missing out.
Mr Koch said some locals might already be a homeowner but they haven’t got increased equity to purchase another property.
However Sydney buyers might have more equity due to higher pricing of houses in the city.
He said a lot of Sydney residents can’t afford to buy an investment in Sydney because the prices are too high.
The real estate principal said Port Macquarie is looked favourably upon by investors because it has such a high growth potential.
Mr Koch said the town is buzzing with new developments taking place and restaurant activity. The town also has educational opportunities due to universities and has recently added flights to Melbourne.
Agents are selling a lot of properties to Sydney buyers which are sight unseen for the listed price.
He said there is demand for houses between $500,000 and $600,000 but houses are selling strong in every price range.
“We’re selling more homes at the million dollar mark when we never used to sell a lot,” Mr Koch said.
The price of the median house price has been increasing for the last two years and it is continuing to rise.
Mr Koch said in previous years the median house price was sitting between the early $300,000 and the early $400,000 price mark.
However he said now it is sitting between $500,000 and $550,000.
Mr Koch knows of people who sold their house 12 months ago and have since been renting.
“The market has run away from them and what they thought they could buy 12 months ago is now out of reach,” Mr Koch said.
He believes first home buyers are getting priced out of the market in Port Macquarie.
To solve the housing affordability issue Federal Nationals MP Andrew Broad said banks should forgo a deposit from first home buyers who have a strong three-year rental history.
Mr Koch said it’s not a one size fits all scenario.
“If they’ve had three years rental history and they were buying in a growth area then in another three years you would expect they would have gained equity because of growth.
“However if there is neutral growth they are only paying interest for the first three years.
“Then if they got sold up, the bank is exposed,” he said.
Mr Koch said banks are extra cautious at the moment because of the housing boom on the east coast.
He said as Port Macquarie is a town with so much to offer, he believes it is still cheap to purchase in the area compared to others on the coast.
He said the agency is not selling as many houses now compared to 2016 due to less supply.
“We’ve got more buyers and less to sell them,”