How was the year in Sydney property?

By Rich Harvey, CEO, propertybuyer.com.au

We're right down to the business end of the year. Hopefully for you, this means kicking back with some snacks and enjoying a successful year of returns from Australian property investment. If you had a buyers agent by your side, then we'd wager they had a great hand in helping you find a good property - don't forget to send them a bottle of wine this Christmas!

But on top of relaxing, the end of the year is also a time for reflection on the year that was - how rents fared, where house prices fell or rose, as well as looking to the future. So with this in mind, let's look at some key elements that influenced the property market this year.

Sydney just couldn't stop

While it appears that housing growth has slowed somewhat, RP Data's Cameron Kusher believes we'll see a 7 per cent overall rise in value growth for 2014. Leading the charge, as always seems to be the case, was Sydney. Even just over the last three months, values rose by 3.1 per cent - well above increases seen in any other capital city.

Vacancy rates remained tight in the inner city at 1.5 per cent, but according to the Real Estate Institute of New South Wales, these levels were still at a more comfortable 1.7 and 2 per cent in middle and outer Sydney respectively. So even though Sydney saw continued growth that was head and shoulders above the rest of the nation, there's still a wide range of properties available. You just have to know where to find them - which is where a buyers agent becomes invaluable. Check out our free reports for just a sample of the data we can provide you with.

Consumers are back on their feet

While ANZ and Roy Morgan research recorded a drop in consumer confidence to 110.2 for the fortnight ending December 14, ANZ Chief Economist Warren Hogan did note that, generally, consumer confidence has seen some good stabilisation this year.

And looking at specific areas of where consumers are feeling good, Roy Morgan also recently noted that customer satisfaction with banks is at an 18-year high at the moment. So on top of a stabilisation in confidence, people are getting ever friendlier with their bank managers. This can also be seen in Australian Bureau of Statistics figures, which recorded a steady increase in house hunters securing finance for the month of October.

So overall, even though the market has slowed, it's still showing very positive signs - and house hunters seem to be acknowledging and responding to this. If you want to make 2015 even better than this year for your investment, make sure to engage the trusted services of a buyers agent.