Cloudy 20° 
We’ve all heard how over the past year the first home owners grant has greatly increased activity in the lower end of the real estate market which has in turn led to increases through the middle range of the market as many people ‘trade up’. Premium property has so far seen little increase in activity and may present the ideal long term investment for those keen to take a chance.
Prices on top end properties are very competitive at the moment through the Port Stephens/Nelson Bay area and there is plenty of stock available which has led to pretty substantial price reductions over the past six months. Waterfront properties are slowly starting to move again showing, in my opinion the first signs of the top end recovery but properties in the $700,000 to $2,000,000 range have remained very slow, particularly units and a search on www.realestate.com.au shows over 150 properties available in that price range. In many cases these properties have seen reductions in their asking prices of 10% to 20% over the past year and will regain that ground plus much more once the market moves again.
For those that have the financial ability to buy now and hold these sort of properties over the next few years I’m convinced that there are going to be some pretty impressive capital gains to be had.