Domain Group forecasts steady house price growth

Australia’s capital city housing markets are set to record steady growth through 2015, the Domain Group said in its Autumn State of the Market Report.

Dr Andrew Wilson, Senior Economist at the Domain Group said the market would continue to be buoyed by low interest rate.

“Buyer confidence has been boosted with the Reserve Bank’s recent interest rate cut and we’ve seen a solid start to 2015 in most markets,” Dr Wilson said.

“We are expecting buyer activity to remain solid through the Autumn selling season and then moderate as we head into Spring.”

The national median house price is forecast to increase by 5 percent over the year.

According to the report, Sydney is poised to retain its position as the leading capital city performer with house price growth outstripping the national growth projection.

Brisbane is expected to be the next best performer as its housing market revival continues.

“Sydney and Brisbane are set to be the best performers over the year, with 8 percent and 6 percent growth forecast respectively,” Dr Wilson said.

“Sydney’s resilience is largely driven by its property shortages and economy, however investor activity remains at record levels and this is another key driver of the price growth being seen.”

“Melbourne, Adelaide and Hobart are in for another positive year, with moderate growth of between 3 and 5 percent likely. Meanwhile, declining local economies spell fairly modest growth of around 2 percent for Darwin, Canberra and Perth.”