the HTW Property Clock explained?
Heron Tod White (HTW) are licenced property valuers in Australia. The HTW Property Clock is a ‘clock’ diagram that is published with their monthly property market analysis, across Australia. This provides overall indication of where HTW believe each property market around the Australia, is currently positioned.
As you can see, 12 o’clock represents the peak of the market and 6pm the bottom, with 3 o’clock and 9 o’clock representing declining or rising markets accordingly. Although a property clock does not provide specific growth or decline figures, it can be used as a guide for where investors could look to invest – or more importantly, where to avoid.
htw Property Clock different cycles
A word of caution though. HTW issue separate property clocks for houses, units and commercial properties because each of these property types may be performing differently at any given time.
For example, Adelaide offices may shown as ‘approaching bottom of market,’ units are ‘starting recovery’ whereas houses are a ‘rising market.’ Further to this, micro-markets also exist within a State and often perform quite differently – hence in NSW the Far-North Coast, Mid-North Coast and Central Coast are shown at different places on the HTW property clock.
Is My Real Estate Agent wrong?
So why is the local real estate agent talking up how great things are when the media is talking about corrections and declines in the property market? Are these agents just doing the ‘sales routine’ and putting on a brave face to make things seem better than they really are?
The answer is most likely, no. Sure, real estate agents are not generally considered to be the most ethical people on the planet – in fact, they are consistently voted as one of the least trusted professions, sharing the limelight with politicians, advertising people and used car salesmen! These agents are probably operating in a market that is actually performing well and the media as a whole is reporting only on the country’s largest market, Sydney – which is currently experiencing a general slow-down after a long time in the sunshine.
Its important to note, the HTW Property Clock is one of many tools in our research process, which is backed by the Aspire Property Advisor Network. To find out more about the properties we source for our clients and The New Way to Invest, please click – HERE
