Mosman market could be beginning to recover

Since the global financial crisis hit in 2008, our top-end property markets have been the major casualty, with corrections in values of up to 30%. Each and every time a pricing guide was drawn in the sand, a new wave of destruction came crashing in and brought about the ongoing value retreat. It should be noted, however, that the top-end value correction was nowhere as severe as that experienced in the recession of the early 1990s.

For the prestige property markets to show signs of recovery, it will be necessary for the elite property markets to start posting anecdotal sales evidence – only then can the rest of the adjoining suburbs can follow suit. Mosman is the elite suburb north of the Harbour Bridge, which explains why it attracts so much attention and scrutiny. So it was a “good news week” for Mosman’s top end when it was reported Western Australian buyer pays $10.1 million for Mosman harbourfront – congratulations to our very own Richard Simeon and Mark Manners who negotiated the sale. Before the market gets too carried away, what is required now is further sales evidence. What makes this sale all the more interesting is that mysterious line in the sand – where does the market believe that the top end has bottomed?

Adding to the intrigue is that prior to the GFC, Mosman buyers found it nearly impossible to compete with merchant bankers. Today, the local buyers are now competing with Chinese buyers, who are expressing an insatiable desire for the 2088 postcode! The next four months will be riveting for top-end properties, and we are predicting that this market is in recovery mode (albeit a modest one). More importantly, the dots are now aligning and vendors can and will have a greater part to play in the negotiations.

Watch – wait and see.

Robert Simeon is a director of Richardson  Wrench Mosman and Neutral Bay and has been selling residential real estate in Sydney since 1985. He has also been writing real estate blog Virtual Realty News since 2000. The RWM real estate model has sold in excess of $1 billion in database sales globally.