Home buyers shun the high cost of moving

25/08/2010

Investors and owner occupiers tend to hold houses longer than they hold units. Rpdata’s senior research analyst Cameron Kusher said Melbourne and Sydney have the longest average hold periods for houses and units (9.6 years and 8.0 years and 9.1 years and 7.4 years respectively) whilst Darwin and Adelaide have the shortest average hold periods (4.7 years and 4.0 years and 6.6 years and 6.2 years respectively).

According to Mr Kusher, on average the cost of housing in Sydney and Melbourne may be contributing to longer hold periods, especially when higher property prices in these two cities, coupled with the overall cost of moving is taken into consideration. “The strong and consistent value growth in recent years within Darwin, and the relatively more affordable property prices in Adelaide are likely contributors to a greater propensity for owners to sell properties within these cities.

Added to this is the cost of stamp duty taxes which can be extremely expensive - especially for homes purchased in prestigious areas. Knowing this, owners of more expensive properties may look to renovate their property rather than relocate,” Mr Kusher said.

Source: Rpdata