Property Point

My dog wakes up every morning convinced she is about to win lotto.

She is so excited about her numbers coming up and winning the big one, again, that she can’t stop wagging her tail, smooching up to me and following me around as I get up and start the day.

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She wants to be right next to me, pressed up against my leg, when the announcement is made.

She also does stretches in front of me, front legs extended, warming up for what’s ahead.

For Millie, the daily lotto win is not a financial thing but her regular morning walk. It means more to her that anything and it is equivalent to winning lotto every day in terms of the joy it brings her.

The excitement and anticipation builds as I start getting dressed … runners, shorts, tracksuit top all indicating the numbers are falling into place. Then the final number slots into place when I go to the cupboard in the laundry where I keep the leash. Like anyone who has won lotto, she goes a bit over the top with her excitement … running around, yelping and generally giving it the big thumbs up.

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Every now and then I have to break the news to her that she hasn’t won lotto this morning. Sometimes life gets in the way and there’s no time for the morning walk but I promise her there will be a walk later in the afternoon.

I’m not sure if Millie has a full understanding of the term “afternoon” but when I get home later in the day she is certainly excited about having the walk we didn’t get to do in the morning.

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But more often than not her early morning anticipation of her numbers coming up Is correct and she’s won lotto again first thing in the day. What a way to start the day!

People who have made good real estate decisions, or maybe just struck it lucky, have felt a similar joy to Millie in terms of their numbers coming up.

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Property owners in Sydney in recent years might not have got up in the morning and run around in a state of over-the-top excitement like Millie does but many would have thought their property purchase was a bit like winning lotto.

Properties bought for $800,000 were worth $2m in a matter of a few years. People who had bought many years ago for $200,000 or $300,000 found their family home was now worth two or three million dollars.  

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It was like winning lotto for most of them because it really was a matter of luck. They happened to live in Sydney, bought a house and, thanks to a strong economy, being in a city people want to live in and an immigration policy that created a big demand for housing, property values went through the roof.

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The world of real estate has changed since the May Federal budget and property values in Sydney are plummeting. People’s houses are still worth a lot but not what they were. People who bought properties relatively recently are, in many cases, in negative territory with their properties worth less than they paid for them.

It’s like losing your lotto ticket.

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People who have owned their property in Mackay have also done well, with properties more than doubling from around 2018 to 2026. The numbers aren’t as big as Sydney but there has still been a very handy win.

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Every real estate market in the country has been affected by the tax changes but the situation in Mackay has been steady. There’s plenty of activity and there’s nothing like the panic being felt in Sydney.

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Buyers are still buying and they are still applying for loans so while you might not be running around your loungeroom in excitement like Millie, it feels like there is room for optimism in Mackay.

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