First home buyers, accounting for almost 20% of mortgage lending, are continuing to lead the charge to buy residential property as more onerous conditions forced many potential investors out.
More than 110,000 first home buyers entered the Australian housing market last year. Although tighter lending standards, declining property prices and uncertainty related to the economy have deterred some, we still expect a similar number of first home buyers to be getting the keys to their very own property this year.
Australian housing market insights
Welcome to the 18th edition of the QBE Australian Housing Outlook where you’ll find the latest property market forecasts and analysis from our partners at BIS Oxford Economics, which we hope will provide some fresh perspectives as the market continues to evolve.
Regulatory intervention in financial markets has had a profound impact on the residential property market. While record low interest rates and unemployment would typically have continued to fuel property prices, the limited availability of credit has more than offset demand resulting in significant property price declines across many of our capital cities.
Capital city house prices
House prices across all capital cities are expected to stabilise over the coming year, before strong population growth and a sharp downturn in new dwelling completions result in median prices increasing.
The strongest forecast is for Brisbane, where a decade of modest price increases has left the market relatively affordable. The future looks a lot brighter for our capital cities and the worst appears to have passed for the Sydney property market and Melbourne’s residential landscape.
See how your capital city is expected to perform.
High-density missing the mark?
With the Australian dream of home ownership as strong as it has ever been, the residential property market continues to evolve to meet our nation’s changing wants and needs. In this year’s report, we examine the current composition of residential property construction in the Australian market to answer one of the big questions of our time – Is high-density missing the mark for owner occupiers?
The information on this page of a general nature and observations about the property market and its trends are not intended to be construed as financial advice. For property market financial advice, speak with a professional.