One more REIWA award and Eric Hartanto will be able to use them for a game of 10-pin bowling at home.
PERTH’S booming real estate market will be safe from any jitters being felt in China’s housing market, says one of Melville’s most successful estate agents.
Harcourts Applecross principal Eric Hartanto, who recently ticked over $1 billion in sales and won the REIWA grand master award for a ninth year, said Perth’s property sector was far from suffering.
“Anyone who has sold since Covid-19 hit has sold well, thanks to high demand and low supply,” Mr Hartanto said.
He said the demand from international buyers had already increased during Covid-19 as Perth was viewed as a “safe haven” due to its limited cases.
Once Western Australian’s borders reopen “we will be flooded by international buyers who want to move and live in Perth”, he said.
But looming is a potential shock to China’s economy caused by one of the world’s most indebted property developers, which some analysts warn could ripple outwards and cause the “next GFC”.
The country’s second biggest property developer Evergrande Real Estate is struggling to repay a $400 billion debt.
There were concerns Evergrande would default on some loan interest payments last week, and while it made the first tranche a trading halt was put on its shares after missing a later payment. The company’s liquidity has been hammered, not helped by the 65 million empty apartments across China.
But Mr Hartanto doesn’t think the shockwaves will reach our shores.
“I don’t think the Chinese property market will directly affect our local Perth property market,” he said.
“The Perth property market does not have a large volume of Chinese buyers like in Melbourne and Sydney, we have a good combination of international and local buyers.
“Buyers’ confidence is now very high, and they are investing their money back into the Perth property market,” he said.
He said Attadale and surrounding areas were still undervalued for the kind of lifestyle and amenities they offered and would keep growing stronger together with rising sales activity in the area.
by LILLI SCOTT