Market Watch: Auctions enjoy another buoyant weekend

Property auctions were busy again over the weekend with the national clearance rate hitting 80 per cent. That improves on last weekend by 5 percentage points and continues a three-week trend of growth. Sydney managed to clear 86 per cent (up from 80 per cent last week); Melbourne was up to 79 per cent (from 76); and Brisbane cleared 48 per cent (up from 41). Adelaide bucked the trend though and slipped back to 50 per cent from 62 per cent a week earlier.
Source: Australian Property Monitors

Why foreign investors are good for the Aussie housing market
It’s one of the most divisive topics in Australian real estate; are foreign investors a good or bad influence on the market? David Airey, president of the Real Estate Institute of Western Australia, says foreign investment is a “welcome requirement” but says it must be governed properly. He says that the rules must be enforced and that means better funding for the Foreign Investment Review Board and greater scrutiny by the tax office: “Foreign investment provides jobs, infrastructure and housing, however Australians are right to expect that [it] is entered into fairly according to the rules,” Airey said.
A recent crackdown by authorities has fuelled the opinion that foreign investors are pushing up the price of homes to a level where domestic buyers can’t afford a mortgage however Airey says there isn’t compelling evidence of this: “The research shows that the median purchase price from overseas buyers is one million dollars and higher. This does not impact on ordinary Australians, particularly because foreign buyers are a very small percentage of total buyers.” He reiterated his call to ensure that regulations are adhered to without deterring foreign investors.
Source: REIWA

Apartments are increasingly popular with families
Traditionally apartments have been the domain of young professionals without children; the so-called DINKS (double-income-no-kids) wanted to live near the city core to be close to the action and cut down on commute times. However in recent years the figures show a shift towards families. Urbis social planning director Stephanie Wyeth and colleague Leila Collins are conducting research and say that when new census data is released there is likely to be a lot more families shown as living in apartments. This change is not necessarily all about families moving into apartments but couples who choose not to move out when they start a family.
Enrolment in inner-city schools is rocketing Wyeth says and she urges city planners to ensure that plenty of parks and other family friendly infrastructure are provided. Brisbane architect Caroline Stalker agrees that there has been a shift and says that families like being “near the things they do every do”. She says that apartments that appeal to families need a second living space and storage for “stuff” such as bicycles.
Source: News Corp Australia Network