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SQM Research Residential Newsletter - 
Tuesday 13 April 2021
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Real Estate Realities 

Data boost property demand  in COVID

It's not just residential property value flying through the clouds. Data centre demand has exploded in Asia during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to CBRE research, Asia Pacific data centre net absorption doubled in 2020, reaching an all-time high - with Tokyo, Sydney, Singapore and Hong Kong SAR, reaching 322 megawatts (MW).
Singapore and Sydney registered the strongest demand, closely followed by Tokyo. 
This jump in net absorption was driven by a pandemic-led surge in demand for video conferencing, online schooling, entertainment, social networking and platforms to support remote working - spurring demands for data storage over 2020.
Full-year transaction volume for data centre assets reached $2.2 billion in 2020, the highest in five years. The year also saw a continuation of platform formation and M&A deals for data centres, with upwards of $5.0 billion deployed by funding platforms and joint ventures across the region.

More ....

 

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Black Dragon's
Words for the Week

"Bitcoin is absolutely the Wild West of finance, and thank goodness. It represents a whole legion of adventurers and entrepreneurs, of risk takers, inventors, and problem solvers. It is the frontier. Huge amounts of wealth will be created and destroyed as this new landscape is mapped out."

Erik Vorhees, American businessman

DISTRESSED PROPERTY OF THE WEEK

705/9 Waterside Place, Docklands VIC 3008 Vic 3008

 
The price has been reduced on this modern and conveniently located apartment in Melbourne's Docklands.  This two-bedroom residence with 84sqm terrace is located in the award-winning Concavo building. Light and airy, it comes with a car space and two bathrooms. You can enjoy a fully equipped gymnasium to BBQ facility, and a 25m lap pool. It could suit an investor or owner occupier keen for city living.

But is the price right? There are currently 140 properties for sale in Docklands. You can view recent sales in 3008 here. On a first look, this apartment appears to be priced with similar apartments. But ample unit supply has dented price growth in postcode 3008. Two-bedroom units have asking selling prices of $634,600 over the year to 13 April, down 2.3% over the year, and prices down by 1.3% over three years. Property listings have been trending up since 2019, adding to supply of units for sale.

Also reflecting an oversupply of rental accommodation, weekly rents have dropped 29.9% over the year to 12 April, while the vacancy rate is a huge 11.2%, though that is down from 18.8% in October last year. The gross rental yield for 3008 is currently around 3.7%. But that won't grow your wealth, so there might be further reason to haggle down the vendor given the stunted outlook for price growth over the near to medium term.


You can monitor this market and others with SQM Research’s free property data.  Also, consider the SQM Property Explorer product for more in-depth data and property price estimator.


National Residential Vacancy Rate Rises in March 
Rents surge in Perth, Brisbane and Adelaide
by Louis Christopher, CEO

SQM Research today has revealed the national residential rental vacancy rate rose to 2.1% over the month of March 2021 from 2.0% in February. The total number of vacancies Australia-wide is now 72,436 residential properties.

The rise in vacancy rates is abnormal for March. It is the first time since 2007 vacancy rates rose for March compared to February. The rise was driven by increases in vacancies in Sydney as well as a reversal in some of the tight rental markets of regional Australia. Melbourne’s vacancy rate slipped to 4.4% in March from 4.5% in February, Elsewhere, in Perth, Adelaide, Canberra, Darwin and Hobart, the vacancy rate was below 1.0%. Brisbane’s rate remained at 1.5% in March 2021.


SQM’s calculations of vacancies are based on online rental listings that have been advertised for three weeks or more compared to the total number of established rental properties. SQM considers this to be a superior methodology compared to using a potentially incomplete sample of agency surveys or merely relying on raw online listings advertised. Please go to our Methodology page for more information on how SQM’s vacancies are compiled.

Over the month to 12th April 2021, capital city rents rose 1.3% for houses to $557 per week but fell 0.2% for units to $411. Reflecting rental accommodation oversupply, Melbourne and Sydney unit rents fell by 1.4% and 0.4%, respectively. Over the year, Melbourne and Sydney unit rents are down substantially by 12.0% and 6.5%. Melbourne house rents fell by 0.5% over the month and by 6.1% over the year to 12th April. In Sydney, house rents rose by 0.9% from a year ago.

Elsewhere, house rents rose in
AdelaidePerth and Brisbane by more than 2.0% over the month to 12th April, while unit rents also rose. Over the year, rents have shown strong growth in the smaller cities, by as high as 25.5% for houses and 11.1% for units in Darwin. Nationally, house rents rose by 14.7% while unit rents rose 6.5%, pushed up by strong growth in regional locations around Australia.

Vacancy rates remain very tight in Australia’s cities excluding Sydney and  Melbourne and this is creating a surge in rents in Perth, Adelaide and Brisbane. However, vacancy rates for Melbourne and Sydney remain elevated. The loss of international student tenants due to COVID-19 has hit both cities hard and the ongoing high rate of dwelling completions keeps these rental markets in surplus. That said we are seeing increasing signs that the absolute worse for CBD landlords has passed.

The
Melbourne CBD vacancy rate now stands at 8.3%, while the Sydney CBD vacancy rate was 6.2% in March 2021. While they are obviously still elevated, those figures are down from the double digits last year and fell again for the month of March.

Meanwhile vacancy rates rose in the Blue Mountains, North Coast NSW, Mornington Peninsula rose for the month. It may be a signal we are seeing a return of the some of the population back to the inner cities.

 

AUCTION RESULTS for week ending 11 April 2021

Full individual auction results can be found on our website: 

AUCTION LISTINGS* for week ending 18 April 2021

CITY Saturday   Rest of Week STATE Saturday   Rest of Week   Link
Sydney 825   171 All NSW 944   264   Auctions in NSW
Melbourne 1150   81 All VIC 1256   95   Auctions in VIC
Brisbane 85   29 All QLD 144   94   Auctions in QLD
Perth 13   10 All WA 14   15   Auctions in WA
Adelaide 64   22 All SA 67   27   Auctions in SA
Canberra 88   29 All ACT 88   29   Auctions in ACT
Darwin 0   2 All NT 0   2   Auctions in NT
Hobart 0   0 All TAS 1   0   Auctions in TAS

* The above counts of auctions represent most recent known auction dates for the coming week.
 

SQM RESEARCH HOUSING INDEXES
 
SQM Research Weekly Asking Prices Index
Week ending
13 Apr 2021
Asking Price Chg on
prev wk
Rolling month
% chg
12 mth
% chg
Sydney All Houses 1,431.5 20.2 1.6% 3.8%
All Units 671.3 -0.3 -0.7% -5.3%
Melbourne All Houses 1,029.6 3.4 0.6% -0.9%
All Units 569.2 -0.7 -0.8% 2.0%
Brisbane All Houses 674.6 2.2 1.1% 4.3%
All Units 384.4 0.0 0.2% 3.3%
Perth All Houses 668.7 0.3 0.0% 2.1%
All Units 390.1 0.6 -0.1% 4.2%
Adelaide All Houses 541.0 1.6 0.4% 4.3%
All Units 323.8 2.7 1.7% 5.4%
Canberra All Houses 831.4 4.5 0.8% 1.1%
All Units 472.6 -1.1 1.7% 7.2%
Darwin All Houses 585.1 -3.7 -0.9% 0.0%
All Units 387.3 2.2 4.1% 20.4%
Hobart All Houses 626.7 -1.0 -1.4% 8.2%
All Units 401.1 12.5 9.3% 11.8%
National All Houses 657.5 3.7 1.7% 9.9%
All Units 414.1 -1.6 0.1% 6.5%
Cap City Average All Houses 1,020.5 14.0 1.7% 2.8%
All Units 565.4 1.1 -0.4% -1.5%

Next update: 20 Apr 2021

 
SQM Research Weekly Rents Index
Week ending
12 Apr 2021
Rent Chg on
prev wk
Rolling month
% chg
12 mth
% chg
Sydney All Houses         661.0      5.0  0.9%  -0.9% 
All Units 453.4 0.6  -0.4%  -6.5% 
Melbourne All Houses 510.9 -0.9  -0.5%  -6.1% 
All Units 365.7 -0.7  -1.4%  -12.0% 
Brisbane All Houses 487.9 1.1  2.1%  5.8% 
All Units 385.9 1.1  0.9%  2.5% 
Perth All Houses 517.5 3.5  2.2%  13.2% 
All Units 385.2 -1.2  1.5%  10.9% 
Adelaide All Houses 437.0 1.0  2.1%  7.2% 
All Units 329.6 0.4  1.7%  5.2% 
Canberra All Houses 658.4 -0.4  -0.2%  1.7% 
All Units 493.1 -0.1  -0.2%  6.2% 
Darwin All Houses 586.7 2.3  0.6%  25.5% 
All Units 401.6 1.4  3.1%  11.1% 
Hobart All Houses 483.4 -1.4  -1.1%  9.3% 
All Units 428.2 4.8  7.1%  9.0% 
National All Houses 507.0 -7.0  1.4%  14.7% 
All Units 391.0 -4.0  -0.3%  6.5% 
Cap City Average All Houses 557.0 2.0  1.3%  2.4% 
All Units 411.0 1.0  -0.2%  -4.0% 

Next update: 20 Apr 2021

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