Darwin Real Estate Market sees early signs of improvement

The Real Estate Institute of Northern Territory (REINT) recently released its Local Market Report for the December Quarter of 2016, and with it came a long sort after sigh of relief.

Yes Darwin – there is finally some light at the end of the tunnel!

Let us be clear…its very early days. However, the data from the report is showing promising signs.

So now we’ve got you hooked – here’s what the report from the most recent quarter indicates for Northern Territory.

House Sales

Residential house sales are on the rise, with a large spike in sales activity noted – increasing by 20.6 percent.

The areas with the highest buyer activity were Palmerston, being up 56 percent from the previous quarter, with 97 residential properties sold at a median price of $475,000.

The other being Alice Springs, which was up 32 percent, with 69 residential properties, also sold at a median Price of $475,000.

Unit & Townhouse Sales

An increase has been seen in the unit and townhouse sales sphere, up by 17.6 percent for the quarter. For overall Darwin, the median price for units increased to $480,000, which was a rise of 4.3 percent.

Inner Darwin primarily led this sales activity, being up by 44 percent for the quarter having sold 108 units/townhouses.

Rental Properties

Rental prices have fallen, with Darwin house rents falling to an average of $509 per week for a three-bedroom house, and $383 per week for a two-bedroom unit.

Rental Yields

Houses rental yields increased to 5.1 percent, however the same can’t be said for units – which continued to fall to 4.1 percent.

Vacancy Rates

Vacancy rates of overall dwellings in Darwin (including Northern Suburbs) rose to 7.8 percent. Palmerston saw a decrease to 5.7 percent, which signals an increase in renter demand.