Property research company Australian Property Monitors has predicted house prices will fall 10% across the nation in the next 12 months as a result of high interest rates and the looming economic slowdown.
The firm's median house prices statistics for the June quarter revealed that Sydney house values dropped by 2.1% during the quarter, while Perth houses slipped 2.8% and Melbourne fell 0.6%. Brisbane fell 1.3% and Canberra prices slipped 0.6%.
The only bright spots were Adelaide, where prices increased 0.4% during the quarter, and the smaller markets of Hobart (up 0.2%) and Darwin (up 0.9% markets).
“The June quarter housing data is the weakest we've observed since 2004. This quarter we recorded widespread falls across Australia's major capitals, and we expect this trend to continue,” APN general manager Michael McNamara says.
Perhaps the most obvious evidence of the continuing weakness in housing prices is a glut of houses up for sale. McNamarra says there are currently more than 25,000 extra properties on the market nationally when compared to this time last year.
On the other side of the fence, buyers are scarce. First home buyers are struggling to get into the market because of higher mortgage costs, and investors are looking to park their funds in safer asset classes, particularly cash and fixed interest securities.
“More vendors are competing for the attention of fewer buyers, which results in pressure to discount,” McNamarra says.
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