Our commentary on issues important to home owners, investors and borrowers
Property prices increased by 25.3% in Sydney in 2021 alone (CoreLogic). Taking a look the current slowdown, we've seen a decline of approximately -3.1% in Sydney over a 5 month period in 2022 (Feb-June 30). When we consider this perspective, property prices would have such a long way to fall before even getting near the property prices we saw in Sydney just last year.
Read MoreThe PIPA (Property Investment Professionals of Australia) Annual Investor Sentiment Survey 2021 has shed light on what investors are thinking in response to the current property market conditions.
The steady decline in housing affordability, with the annual growth rate in housing values reaching 20.3%, has made its impact. Compared to 41 per cent from last year, 71 per cent of investors now believe prices in their state or territory will increase over the next year.
The pandemic has made remote working more commonplace and investors are looking at relocating due to housing affordability and improved lifestyle factors — such as less crowded cities and less active cases —that may be gained from living in more regional areas.
Investors are also favouring regional and coastal areas for investment purposes, with Queensland becoming the leading location for offering the most potential. 58% of investors believe so, and this is up from last year’s 36 per cent.
Compared to last year’s PIPA survey, it seems the positive sentiment gained from booming property prices has now been mitigated by increasing housing unaffordability and the recent rise in COVID cases, which has impacted investors’ willingness to enter the market.
Read More45% of the new full-time jobs on the Sunshine Coast over the last five years have been in construction. Across all employment types, the Sunshine Coast saw full-time jobs losses last year of 210 and a 1,155 fall in construction positions. The Sunshine Coast is creating jobs but not necessarily full-time ones. This will have an impact on what type of housing is needed and where it is located.
Read MoreWe get a steady flow of questions from those who read our research, or follow our posts, but one question, more than any other we get asked is – Should I Buy Property Now? Many cite the real estate industry claims that now is a great time to buy – but is it really?
Read MoreThis utopian version of property ownership has all but been removed from reality by the rapidly increasing house prices and low wage growth environment we have been faced with in recent times. For many, if you weren’t in the market before 2014, you may have missed the boat.
Read MoreSeparate research by National Shelter, and the City Futures Research Centre demonstrate the magnitude of the housing affordability problem for low income households. The authors conclude that housing affordability problems are multidimensional and extend beyond the capital cities. They argue that we need to bolster the economic and social capital of the regions so that they offer greater opportunity to the vulnerable households who have gravitated there.
Read MoreLoanscape is your information resource about lending and property.
Combined dwelling values have re-accelerated across the nation in February, with all mainland capitals soaring in value. It probably comes as no surprise that Perth claimed the top spot by gaining a whopping 1.8% for the month
Loanscape has today released its Borrowing Capacity Index for Q1/2024. It shows that the borrowing capacities of Australian individuals and families continue to decline. The more modest decline in the size of average loans being taken confirms that lower income borrowers are being disproportionately impacted by interest rate hikes: the family income required to qualify for the average loan in Australia is now 32% higher than 18 months ago.
The end of the year is fast approaching, with most capitals experiencing a strong recovery on dwelling values from the downturn that culminated at the start of 2023.
The recovery is mainly due to an influx of immigration and constricted supply, which the Government is trying to remedy with its ambitious goal of building 1.2 million homes by 2029 through HAFF.
In this months report, the $10bn Housing Australia Future Fund (HAFF) has finally passed the Senate after the Labor Government struck a deal with the Greens to add another $1bn for public and community housing. The HAFF plans to build 30,000 social and affordable homes in the next five years; though, national spokesperson for Everybody’s Home, Maiy Azize says it won’t solve the existing “shortfall of 640,000 homes”.
In this months news, CoreLogic’s Mapping the Market tool shows rent values rose in over 90% of Australian markets over the last 12 months, with Adelaide and Perth’s suburbs topping the list.
In response, the National Cabinet has introduced new measures to counter the rising housing crisis, including a New Home Bonus, a Housing Support Program and a National Planning Reform Blueprint.
It has also agreed to A Better Deal for Renters, which will streamline renters’ rights across the nation with consistent policies for eviction grounds, rental standards and limits on rent increases.
Loanscape has today released its Borrowing Capacity Index for Q2/2024. It shows that the borrowing capacities of Australian individuals and families have stabilised after the sharp decline over the past 2 years. Lower income borrowers continue to be disproportionately impacted by interest rate increases: the family income required to qualify for the average size loan in Australia is 35% higher than 2 years ago.