Here are the three stories making news to finish 2019:
- 1. Stock levels are up - how fast are they selling?
2. How to avoid Loyalty scheme tricks.
3. Regulator warns about timeshare homes.
I know you’ve worked hard throughout the year, so I hope you have a fun, relaxing holiday break. Oh, and don’t leave your Christmas shopping to the last minute!
Get in touch below if you want to book in a time to chat before or after the holidays!
Call me now on: 0402 408944
Stock returning to the market but how fast is it selling?
More and more home owners are offering their properties for sale, according to new data from SQM Research.
SQM has reported that while residential property listings in November 2019 were down 6.3% on the year before, they were actually up 6.3% compared to the month before.
So while there was a shortage of sellers for much of 2019, it appears that home owners have become increasingly willing to put their home on the market.
More property listings means more downward pressure on prices.
In month-on-month terms, Hobart had the biggest surge in listings (by 11.7%), while Darwin was the only capital where listings fell (by 1.9%).
In year-on-year terms, Canberra was the only capital city where listings increased (by 0.4%), while Sydney experienced the biggest decline (by 19.3%).
SQM has also reported how quickly properties have been selling.
During November, the share of properties that had been on the market for less than 30 days was highest in Sydney at 44.5% and lowest in Darwin at 9%. Melbourne had the highest total of new properties available with 7, 712 which was 44.2% of all property available.
All capital cities also have significant levels of stock that's been on the market for more than six months:
22% for Sydney and Melbourne,
25% for Brisbane,
26% for Adelaide,
27% for Canberra,
32% for Hobart,
34% for Perth
66% for Darwin.
How to avoid Loyalty Scheme tricks
Feel like you’ve been getting a raw deal from customer loyalty schemes? Well, Australia’s competition watchdog says you might be right.
The ACCC has released a new report into loyalty schemes, such as frequent flyer, supermarket and hotel operators. The report calls for loyalty operators to:
- Provide more information to consumers.
- Improve their data practices
- Stop automatically linking people’s payment cards to their loyalty scheme profiles
The ACCC wants loyalty operators to more prominently alert people when their points are about to expire and to stop collecting data on the sly.
The ACCC also wants the government to ban unfair contract terms in loyalty schemes and to introduce a new law against certain unfair trading practices.
Five tips for consumers
- Companies use loyalty schemes to collect your data and send you targeted ads
- Don’t make unnecessary purchases just to earn points
- Just because you get a points discount at one business, it doesn’t mean you can’t find the same product for less at another business
- Keep track of when your points are due to expire
- Loyalty scheme conditions change from time to time, so read your emails
Think carefully before buying a timeshare home
When it comes to buying into a timeshare property scheme, it’s a case of buyer beware.
Australia’s financial services regulator, ASIC, has released a report into timeshare schemes that reveals “a high level of discontent” among participants.
“Timeshare memberships are complex and give rise to long-term financial commitments,” ASIC commissioner Danielle Press said.
Data sourced from the Australian Timeshare Holiday Owners Council shows consumers pay an average of:
- $23,000 for their membership
- $800 in ongoing annual membership costs
- 13.5% p.a for their loan interest rate
“ASIC is concerned about the sales tactics used by timeshare operators that harness a range of well-known behavioural techniques to propel consumers toward a purchase decision such as the use of time-bound ‘exclusive’ offers,” Ms Press said.
“We saw consumers spend large sums of money on a purchase they did not expect to make and then enter into ongoing financial commitments under time pressure.”
If you own a timeshare or are thinking about getting one and want to know how it would impact your home loan, give me a call.
