Darwin Blog

 

Darwin, NT (19 October 2020) Darwin real estate is set for a robust November sales market as more buyers continue to seek to make a move north from Victoria. 

 Leading real estate firm Raine & Horne Darwin reports Melbourne buyers represented between 55-60% of total property enquiries during October. 

Moreover, leading property commentator Glenn Grantham, General Manager, Raine & Horne Darwin, says that apart from a two-month blip in April and May, COVID has largely unaffected the city’s real estate market. 

 “After the initial go-slow as we all negotiated the impact of COVID, the Darwin market has simply clicked back into gear,” said Mr Grantham. 

“Overall, our market started to move in November last year as buyers digested the positive news about the NT economy. This news included a raft of significant infrastructure announcements such as Sun Cable’s plans to build a $20 billion solar plant in Tennant Creek to help power Singapore.

“Almost 12 months to the day, enquiries started to pick up and consequently November 2019 was a big month for us and the first positive sign the Darwin market was turning the corner on sales volumes.” 

Mr Grantham continued, “Since that time, the Darwin market been outstanding apart from the two-month hiccup.” Data from CoreLogic shows that over the last quarter, the Darwin market grew by 2.3% compared to the combined capital average of -1.5%[i].  

 

More Victorians expected when border opens

“Our government is discussing opening our borders to Victorians, and we expect this will encourage even more enquiry from down south.”

Since the border reopening in July, 110,000 people have crossed into the Northern Territory. “For a jurisdiction with a population of 244,000 this is significant,” said Mr Grantham.

“There are reports that 7,700 of these people have reported they’ll stay longer than six months. Even if only 50% of these people stay longer-term, this would be an increase in our population of 2.5%. Moreover, it’s fair to expect this number will surge again once our borders with Victoria reopen.”

Among the buyer enquiries, Mr Grantham also reports a spike in interest from Victorian retirees. “Much of Australia’s wealth is locked in the homes of older homeowners. 

“For example, I had a call this week from a wealthy retiree from regional Victoria who has already called in the removalists to pack up her home,” said Mr Grantham.

“She wants a rental for six months to give her some time to find a suitable property in Darwin. She wants out of Victoria and is shifting her wealth to Darwin. These are the people we want.”

 

Inner and norther suburbs to benefit from southern interest

Many of the new southern arrivals are seeking homes in inner Darwin suburbs such as Fannie Bay, Larrakeyah, and Parap.

“Also, vendors from northern suburbs such as Alawa, Anula, Brinkin, Jingili, Karama, Leanyer, Moil are set to benefit from southern state demand if they are selling a traditional elevated Darwin home,” Mr Grantham noted. 

A whopping elevated home set on an 817 square metre block 49 Yeadon Circuit, Moil has just hit the market for sale from above $650,000. “This property is exactly what Eastern state buyers are looking for as it comes with a spa, has a massive block, plenty of bedrooms and is elevated.

“At more than $650,000, this is also the perfect price point for retirees or investors as it’s above the cap for first home buyer incentives. Therefore, savvy buyers have less competition from the massive market of first home buyers to deal with, and more choice of properties to buy.”

For vendors, Mr Grantham advises Darwin owners to make a move before Christmas. “What we know now is that there are plenty of buyers around,” he said. “

“What we don’t know is what will happen when government incentives are scaled back after Christmas and post-COVID.”

 

Now is the time to find out what your Darwin property is worth. Register for your free appraisal and one of our expert agents will be in touch. 

For further media information please contact:

Glenn Grantham
General Manager
Raine & Horne Darwin

08 8941 8941
[email protected].

 

[i] https://www.corelogic.com.au/news/corelogic-hedonic-home-value-index-october-2020