Property Price Recovery Tipped to Ramp Up

The nation’s property prices will rise by up to 5 per cent before the year is out.

So says Proptracks’ latest report as it predicts the rebound that has handed prices a 2.3 per cent rise in the first half of this year will continue, if not ramp up.

National property prices are expected to increase between 2 per cent to 5 per cent by the end of 2023, the report said, with and increase between 3 per cent to 6 per cent across the combined capital cities.

All capital cities except Hobart (-3 per cent to -6 per cent) and Darwin (-3 per cent to 0 per cent) are expected to have positive price growth for the remained of the year.

over the remainder of 2023. 

The strongest growth is expected in Perth (4 per cent to 7 per cent), Sydney and Adelaide (3 per cent to 6 per cent), and Brisbane (1 per cent to 4 per cent).

Melbourne (-1 per cent to 2 per cent) and Canberra (0 per cent to 3 per cent) are forecast to see growth, albeit less pronounced.

Proptrack said the forecast was based on a prediction that the cash rate was nearing the peak of the rate hiking cycle. 

The rebound in property prices has occurred despite interest rates continuing to rise, reducing borrowing capacities, it said.

From here, the direction of the housing market is likely to be influenced by the volume of stock available for sale.

PropTrack director of economic desearch and report author Cameron Kusher said the property market had experienced a turnaround this year with six consecutive months of property price growth.

“Limited supply of available properties for sale was a key factor contributing to buyer competition and price growth,” he said.

“National property prices increased 2.3 per cent during the first six months of 2023, signalling a shift in the housing market and reversing the declines experienced in the prior six months.

“We saw price increases despite rising interest rates and reduced borrowing capacities and anticipate moderate price increases to continue over the coming months. 

“We expect property prices to increase by up to 5 per cent nationally over the remainder of 2023, with greater growth projected in the larger capital cities. 

“The outlook for 2024 is much less clear with a large cohort of fixed-rate borrowers’ mortgages set to expire from current interest rates of around 2 per cent and reset to around 6 per cent.

“Interest rate changes act with a lag, and as such, the possible impact of higher repayments on these borrowers won’t be seen until 2024.

“At this stage, we are forecasting modest price growth in 2024.”