Australia’s housing market has not been short of the occasional twist or turn in 2023, and many owners sat on the sidelines to watch how it would play out.
In the past four months we’ve seen it turn from decline to a far more positive sentiment. But we got a final twist with the Melbourne Cup Day rate rise that took our cash rate to 4.35%.
As an experienced real estate agency in your area, we believe this will not stop the rebound in market sentiment and prices. The promise of rate decreases in 2024 likely underpins buyer optimism.
While we understand dampening the 5.4% inflation rate is vital, the move has made conditions difficult for first-time buyers and less attractive to investors: two of the most critical buying segments.
As we enter 2024, it is worth looking at market performance with the latest data from industry researcher CoreLogic.
It found that, to the end of October, value rises were accelerating. The Home Value Index registered a 0.9% rise, which follows a 0.7% increase in September.
CoreLogic predicted the index would show annual growth at 7.5% by April, recovering all the value lost in the post-Covid slump that ran from May 2022 to January 2023.
On a quarterly basis, the recovery may have lost a little steam. The three-month rise of 2.6% to October 31 could not better the 3.7% registered over a similar period to June 30.
Three capitals (Sydney, Perth and Brisbane) have experienced 10%-plus rises in values since the beginning of March.
Perth has now recovered from the losses sustained in the post-Covid slump while Brisbane and Adelaide are recording record price levels.
By comparison, Sydney’s values are still -2.2% off their peak, and Melbourne is -3.7%. The worst performance comes from Hobart, where values remain -11.6% underwater from peak levels.
CoreLogic said the regions “lag their capital city counterparts”. With a combined rise of 0.7%, the only area dragging the chain was regional Tasmania. However, regional Victoria remains -7.3% off its peak price levels.