Pittwater Life June 2022 Issue

Hot Property
Why ‘finished’ homes
are highly prized
‘The Priory’ at 56 Bynya Road
Palm Beach.
Hot Property
LOCAL SCENE: 3 Ross Smith Pde Great Mackerel Beach (left) fetched a record $6.5m; 7 Beauty Drive Whale Beach.
Although house prices
have been softening
since the start of the
year, rising construction costs
are now having an impact on all
levels of the property market.
“The medians in Sydney and
Melbourne have pulled back
a bit while elsewhere price
growth is slowing,” reports Ray
White Chief Economist Nerida
Conisbee.
“Add in the first of many expected
interest rate rises after
two years of the strongest level
of price growth ever recorded,
you would normally expect
prices to continue to stabilise
or fall for established homes
for the remainder of the year.
“However, this ignores the
complexity of the housing
market as well as how more
expensive construction costs
influence house prices.”
Conisbee reports construction
costs were up nine per
cent – the highest rate recorded
excluding the year the
GST was introduced.
She explained rising construction
costs meant fewer
homes being built – and this
made a new home more expensive,
meaning people will
look to the existing market.
Rising demand for existing
homes from owner-occupiers is
coming at a time when we are
also having increased demand
for rental accommodation.
“With construction industry
challenges, housing supply
will be impacted, resulting in
rising prices and rising rents,”
she said.
The demand for luxury properties
on the Northern Beaches
hasn’t faded, with strong sales
results continuing to being
achieved, particularly at the
upper end of the market.
When markets enter a new
cycle typically there are less
new listings due to sellers being
more cautious, said Noel
Nicholson from Ray White
Prestige Palm Beach.
“This has been evident
across the upper Northern
Beaches… Whale Beach is a
prime example with only three
listings in the suburb coming
to market in 2022 to date,”
Nicholson said.
“The lack of stock in Palm
and Whale Beach has continued
the challenge for buyers to
secure properties in the area.
“It is primarily for this reason
that highly desirable properties
continue to be sought after,
and strong sales continue to
be achieved.”
Properties currently listed
for sale with Ray White Prestige
Palm Beach include an
expansive family home at 7
Beauty Drive Whale Beach and
the magnificent four-storey
sandstone residence known as
Holy Mackerel!
David Edwards and BJ Edwards
of LJ Hooker Palm Beach set
a new suburb high for Great
Mackerel Beach when they sold
3 Ross Smith Parade for $6.5
million last month.
It wasn’t long before the
busy father-and-son team
added to their successful
selling streak achieving a new
price record for Whale Beach
with the sale of the stunning
oceanfront home at 17a Malo
Road in line with their price
guide of $14 million.
Swell’s designs
on the future
Northern Beaches property
owners, builders and architects
can now tap into the
latest building and design
technology usually reserved
for projects at ‘the big end of
town’.
Boasting a team who have
worked on major public buildings
including the Sydney
Opera House and the National
Gallery of Australia, Mona-
Vale-based Southern Swell
studio is now offering their
collaborative technological and
specialist design expertise to
support small-to-medium local
businesses involved in homes
Continued on page 40
38 JUNE 2022
The Local Voice Since 1991