Momentum Building With More Rate Cuts Tipped To Boost Competition

As I loaded the yellow gavel into the briefcase last Saturday, I was excited to see how the market was going to respond to the election result. Since the election last weekend, there has been further speculation of interest rate cuts with most experts expecting at least two more rate cuts still to come this year. Then add that to all of the other market-driving levers that have already been pulled in Brisbane, I expected buyers to be busy last Saturday. My first auction was at a home in East Brisbane. It was the first time the property had been sold in nearly 50 years. It was a purpose-built, one bedroom home on about a 500sq m block and it offered a lot of options for buyers. These outlier-style of properties can either be very popular in a strong market or unpopular in a flat market. Over 30 buyers registered to bid on Saturday morning and they battled it out for a sale of $1.58 million. But to give you a clearer view on the regular market, I followed that auction with a sale of a beautifully renovated home in Hawthorne. Again, these properties can be popular in strong markets, but the concerns of overcapitalising can linger in a flat market. About 10 buyers registered and over 100 people filled the tree-lined street to watch as a young couple secured the home for $2.953 million in an old school bidding battle that saw the final moments edge up in $500 bids. The early signs are that 2025 is building momentum and when those rate cuts hit things could become even more competitive.