Confidence

Don't you just hate it. A new post all ready to go, then some smart arse goes and sells a house. A house that's been on the market over two years, already discounted 23% and wait for it, declares boom times are just around the corner. Of course, as this site and others have regularly proven, the real estate industry is damn adept at finger painting with poo and shouting, "look Mummy, I've painted the sun."

With six bedrooms and three crappers, this Burnie house is reasonably impressive. Sleep in a new bed for most nights of the week and never get bored by sitting on the same toilet twice in a row. Hey, I'm sold, but most weren't. Hence the reason it's been on the market for over two years. It started out with an ambitious $1.5 million price tag, which eventually wiggled its way down to $1.15 million, with the vendor willing to negotiate on that.

Of course the discounting was superfluous to the report in the The Advocate...

PRDnationwide property consultant Simon Finlay said the sale was a boon for the local real estate industry.

"At more than $1million, I believe it is the most a residential property has gone for in Burnie," he said.

And Simon rocked on...

"Everyone is saying it is a slow time for real estate, but there are people looking for good properties. People still have the money, they are just holding onto it a bit more."

Cue the boss...

PRDnationwide director Casey Spinks said the sale was a positive sign confidence was returning to the real estate market on the North-West Coast.

"We're currently marketing several other prestige properties along the Coast, and have had strong recent interest from both local and interstate buyers. Also a few inquiries are coming from overseas," he said.

Mr Finlay said his hopes for the coming real estate season were bright.

"Come summer we could easily be in boom times again," he said.

With listings across the North-West slightly dropping over the last month, it's still not time to harden up over a potential boom. Housing finance for the state has been tracking sub 1000 for about 17 months now - a trend not so consistently rancid since the doldrums of the 90's. And take Burnie, for instance. The home to the mega-million-dollar sale. 21% of homes currently for sale are rental properties and another 19% of homes for sale are currently empty.

The majority of the rental properties are at the bottom end of the market - beware first home buyers. Purchased in a mainland vulture inspired orgy of the early to mid 2000's. With Burnie listings still 20% higher than nine months ago, the percentage of rentals and empties for sale during this increase has barely moved - rentals for sale down by 2% against that increase and empties tracking flat.

Wading into this market based on a one off and a real estate agent drawing a long bow and calling a potential boom, on that one off, is highly dangerous. Agents around the country are proclaiming bottoms are near, corners are being turned, signs are becoming positive and booms will return with the rising temperatures - and it's all on the flimsiest of evidence.

Why should you believe any of them?