The Paddington market is one of the top performing suburbs in the east at the moment with a shortage of stock meaning that homes across all price ranges are being snapped up quickly by buyers wanting a slice of the Paddo lifestyle. Since January, the team has sold nine homes in Paddington and we currently have six properties across the spectrum from a boutique one-bedroom apartment and charming terrace to high-end luxury homes.

Our Paddington specialist Catherine Dixon says, “We’ve had some exceptional results this year with a strong market that’s backed up by low interest rates and plenty of buyers looking to upsize. The hottest sector of the market is the $3.5m-$5m price bracket as families with more savings after no overseas travel for the past year, and for the foreseeable future, are looking for larger homes. Last year, vendors were reluctant to sell as they feared prices would plummet due to the Covid pandemic but, now that we are on the cusp of a mini boom, homes are selling quickly and for top prices as there’s a real lack of stock and Paddington homes hold their value really well with superb capital growth potential.”

In the past 10 days, Catherine and her team Kane Dunkley and William Hesketh have sold two prestige homes prior to auction with 158 Sutherland Street, Paddington snapped up for $4.25m after only 10 days on the market and 82 Paddington Street, Paddington selling for $4.825m in less than a week with 62 groups through the home after only a handful of inspections. Catherine’s listing at 7 Little Napier Street, Paddington is currently under offer for a price equating to $33,000 per sqm which is higher than glamourous apartments with views in Potts Point! Catherine says, “The prices we’re achieving show the strength of the market and how recent shifts in the way we want to live are drawing buyers to the area for its sense of community, connectivity, walkability and proximity to parks and nature.”

A perfect market entry is 9/61 Liverpool Street, Paddington which is an oversized boutique Art Deco apartment just up from Five Ways while 6/4 Renny Lane, Paddington offers a rare opportunity to buy in the tightly held St John’s Residences heritage conversion in the village heart.

Our finance partner Shore Financial reports that the property market has shown signs of significant improvement, starting off strong with Australian home values peaking to a new record high surpassing pre-Covid levels by 1.0%, marking it 0.7% higher than the previous peak in October 2017. Theo Chambers from Shore says, “These strong property prices can be attributed to low interest rates as the RBA cut the cash rate three times last year bringing it down from 0.75% in February to an all-time low of 0.10% in November. The cuts were the federal government’s attempt to boost the economy which we’ve clearly seen has been effective and, this year, the RBA is forecasting a stable hold to the cash rate for at least the next three years.

Low interest rates have given borrowers more confidence to jump in as affordability has drastically improved resulting in the high clearance rates we’re seeing at present. Due to this three-year RBA cash rate forecast, we could expect to see property prices jump by 30%.” Click here to read more about this on Shore Financials’ recent blog post. Shore Financial also offers a quick online Home Loan Health Check Tool for anyone who wants to review their existing home loan and calculate potential savings from a refinance, click here for a quick online review, and now also offers a fast online Borrowing Power Tool click here for a quick estimate.

This week the sales team secured 10 sales with an average price of $2.3m and listed 15 new properties. Take care, stay safe and keep connected.