"Actons April sales signal rebound in WA market"

Hi Followers

I thought I'd share an article published on rebonline.com.au

ACTON, a WA-based real estate group, has posted a 49 per cent on-year surge in sales in April, beating the usual Easter slowdown and signalling an improved year ahead.

“Historically our figures fall in April, usually due to Easter and school holidays,” said ACTON managing director Graeme Baxter. “This wasn’t the case this year and it will be very interesting to see the May figures.”

“At this stage I’m feeling very confident about the direction of the market for 2012. There appears to be a good balance between buyers’ and sellers’ attitudes.

“Sellers are now pricing for the market and will consider all genuine offers. Buyers are no longer expecting to get huge price discounts, however they still expect good value for money.”

ACTON’s sales figures were 15.34 per cent higher than the March result, and 49.32 per cent higher than April 2011. ACTON's April result comes shortly after figures released by the Real Estate Institute of WA (REIWA) revealed a jump in activity in the state's property market.

Mr Baxter said last week’s rate cut would support a market that is continuing to show signs of recovery.

“The ACTON Group has had yet another strong month, and that followed small rate rises from the banks in the first few months of the year,” he said.

“The rate cut from the RBA was significant and allowed the banks to pass on a reasonable cut to mortgage holders. We should see the effect of this over the next few months.”

ACTON said that one area that continued to perform well was Mandurah, located 60km south of Perth. “Sales in that region have always been strong, but have been outstanding this year,” the company said. “April was a record month for ACTON Mandurah.”

Other areas also performing strongly include ACTON’s regions in the western suburbs, and prime riverside locations. Trade up buyers were also more active.

While the strong sales turnover is good news and suggests ongoing confidence in the market,

ACTON said sellers needed to remain realistic when it came to pricing.

“More sales do not necessarily mean a jump in prices,” said Mr Baxter.

“There are close to 13,500 properties on the market and buyers still have a lot of choice. Price is the key to selling in a reasonable time frame. If buyers don’t like the price they can, and do, go elsewhere.

“However, if the good sales results continue over the next few months I would definitely expect to see a gradual rise in prices in the second half of the year.”

This information was gathered from:
http://rebonline.com.au/breaking-news/5031-actons-april-sales-signal-rebound-in-wa-market

DEB BRADY
0405 570 903