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The Urban Developer’s latest Gold Coast housing market insights reveals that conditions on the Gold Coast are cooling, with values now falling faster than almost anywhere else in Queensland...

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The Urban Developer’s latest Brisbane housing market insights reveal that the city’s property prices are now 11 per cent below the record high, which was set in June 2022.

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The Urban Developer’s latest Sydney housing market insights reveal the city’s home values have clawed back lost ground but still sit 11.2 per cent below their record high set in January 2022…

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The Urban Developer’s latest Melbourne housing market insights reveal that the median home value climbed to $755,871 in May 2023, which was a 0.9 per cent bump from the previous month.

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<div class="row" data-reactroot=""><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="row ci"><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="ci cl"><p>Australia’s <a href="https://theurbandeveloper.com/articles/australias-house-prices-rise-corelogic">housing market </a>looks set to make a full recovery by April after reaching its bottom last year, with the latest market research showing owner-occupiers lead the charge.  </p><p>National dwelling values bottomed out 8.4 per cent below their peak in June 2019, with the market since recovering 6.7 per cent.</p><p>While most recovery periods match the length of time it takes to go from peak to trough, Corelogic head of residential research Eliza Owen says Australia’s residential market would make a full nominal recovery by April, if growth rates continue at the January trajectory of 0.9 per cent growth per month.</p><p>“Marking a 10-month recovery period since values found a floor last June,” Owen said. </p><p>“With record-high values expected across Australian dwellings in a few months’ time, 2020 will see the fastest market recovery on record with respect to the length of the downswing.” </p><h2><strong>Clearance rates soar in strong start to year</strong></h2><p>Capital city auction activity ramped up with 1,122 homes taken to auction over the weekend, a number expected to further rise in the coming weeks, and almost double the amount of last week’s 625 auctions held. </p><p>Sydney was home to the busiest auction market with 428 auctions. The harbour city returned a preliminary auction clearance rate of 79.9 per cent, the highest preliminary result across the capital cities.</p><p>Melbourne was home to 401 auctions, with preliminary figures showing a 74 per cent success rate.</p><p>Canberra was the second highest preliminary clearance rate across the capital cities, at 77.8 per cent.</p><p>While in Brisbane only 36.4 per cent of homes sold at auction. </p></div></div></div><div class="row ci"><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="ci cl"><div><picture><img src="https://tud-prod-tudmedia-oj9w2zshuo0o.s3.amazonaws.com/raw/images/17f3adf8-1bf6-4b77-90c2-e7f31d3f8b36.jpg" width="800"/></picture><div><span style="align-content:center;opacity:0.8">▲ Owen says the table shows the number of months taken to get from peak to trough, and from trough to recovery throughout past cycles.</span></div></div></div></div></div><div class="row ci"><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="ci cl"><h2><br><strong>Owner-occupiers lead the charge</strong></h2><p>Following three rate cuts in 2019, the <a href="https://theurbandeveloper.com/articles/rba-banks-qe">central bank</a> has maintained the cash rate at the record low of <a href="https://theurbandeveloper.com/articles/rba-hints-at-historic-interest-rate-cut">0.75 per cent since October</a>.</p><p>Housing finance data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows more activity from first home buyers, upgraders, and down-sizers leading the recovery. </p><p>“During the previous upswing from 2012-2017, the portion of new housing finance to owner occupiers, excluding refinancing, averaged 59.4 per cent based on the value of commitments,” Owens said. </p><p>Owen says this has risen to 71.4 per cent over the past seven months.</p><p>“It is worth noting that data on the latter is covering a relatively short period of time, and investor participation may increase over 2020,” Owens said. </p></div></div></div></div></div>

Australia’s housing market looks set to make a full nominal recovery by April after reaching a bottom year, with the recovery led by owner-occupiers.

Joint-venture developers Urban, Hamilton Marino and CHT Architects signed The Ascott Limited’s new hotel brand Lyf on their 105-room Collingwood building slated to open in 2022.

<div class="row" data-reactroot=""><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="row ci"><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="ci cl"><p>Victorian developers are forging ahead with new hotel plans as operators and project timelines are updated on two Melbourne sites.</p><p>Ashe Morgan “confidently” signed Nesuto to their $100 million 211-room hotel in The District, Docklands which is expected to be built early next year and opened in 2023.</p><p>Joint-venture developers Urban, Hamilton Marino and CHT Architects also signed The Ascott Limited’s new hotel brand Lyf on their 105-room Collingwood co-living building, slated to open in 2022.</p><p>This comes as dismal travel results are recorded for the state in June by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. </p><p>They reveal a 99.3 per cent drop in international visitors to 1,140 and a near 100 per cent drop in international students as Covid-19 cases started to pick up in Victoria.</p><p>There were just 70 long-term visitor arrivals and 660 short-term visitors in June 2020 compared to solid growth in arrivals for the state since 2010. </p><p>In 2019 people from Singapore, China and New Zealand represented the largest number of visitors while in 2020 the arrivals came from New Zealand, the United Kingdom and United States.</p></div></div></div><div class="row ci"><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="ci cl"><hr/></div></div></div><div class="row ci"><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="ci cl"><p><strong>Short-term visitor arrivals in Victoria</strong></p></div></div></div><div class="row ci"><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="ci cl"><div><picture><img src="https://tud-prod-tudmedia-oj9w2zshuo0o.s3.amazonaws.com/raw/images/211f3fb9-578f-4495-bf83-67fb05567ac0.jpg" width="800"/></picture><div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="row ci"><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="ci cl"><p><sub><sup>^ Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics </sup></sub></p></div></div></div><div class="row ci"><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="ci cl"><p>CommSec senior economist Ryan Felsman said that with conditions worsening, not much of an improvement was expected for the state.</p><p>“The renewed lockdown in Melbourne and the re-closure of Queensland’s state border in recent weeks have made life for beleaguered tourism operators even more difficult,” Felsman said.</p><p>According to the ABS there was some improvement nationally when comparing June to May with an increase of international visitors by 56.8 per cent and returned residents by 17.8 per cent.</p><p>Related: <a href="https://theurbandeveloper.com/articles/hotel-performance-str-airdna-occupancy">Global Hotel Performance Up from Rock Bottom</a></p></div></div></div><div class="row ci"><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="ci cl"><hr/></div></div></div><div class="row ci"><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="ci cl"><h2><strong>Melbourne hotel operators move in</strong></h2><p>The District Docklands chief executive George Karabatsos said they were moving forward with their long-term <a href="https://theurbandeveloper.com/articles/ashe-morgans-67m-docklands-fresh-food-precinct-starts-construction-">plans </a>for the site.</p><p>“Despite current market conditions, we are confident retail and tourism remains crucial to Victoria’s rebuild post-Covid-19,” Karabatsos said.</p><p>Located at 80 Waterfront Way, Nesuto Docklands Apartment Hotel will form part of the open-air precinct of The District Docklands. </p></div></div></div><div class="row ci"><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="ci cl"><div><picture><img src="https://tud-prod-tudmedia-oj9w2zshuo0o.s3.amazonaws.com/raw/images/84edfe80-8701-4208-900e-833bee61e83d.jpg" width="800"/></picture><div><span style="align-content:center;opacity:0.8">▲ AsheMorgan signs the Nesuto Docklands Apartment Hotel as a milestone expansion to Melbourne’s The District Docklands mixed use precinct.</span></div></div></div></div></div><div class="row ci"><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="ci cl"><p><br>The partnership sees Nesuto add its first Victorian property to its existing portfolio of 11 operating, and one in-the-pipeline, hotels in Australia and New Zealand.</p><p>The apartment hotel, designed by Melbourne-based architects Fender Katsalidis, will feature 58 one-bedroom, 20 two-bedroom and 133 studio apartments.</p><p>The Collingwood hotel development at 42 Oxford Street sits within Urban’s C&amp;L development on a triple street block along Cambridge, Langridge and Oxford Streets.</p><p>The hotel is expected to attract “millennials” and the “millennial-minded” who will use a mobile app to tap or swipe to open doors, check-in and out and make contactless payments.</p><p>Urban director Bart O’Callaghan welcomed Singapore-based Ascott as operator of the ensuite and studio apartments.</p><p>“Lyf will be Collingwood’s first co-living hotel and the first of its kind in Australia,” O’Callaghan said.</p><p>Ascott’s other serviced residences and hotel brands include Ascott The Residence, Somerset, Quest, Citadines and Citadines Connect.</p></div></div></div></div></div>

Victorian developers are forging ahead with new hotel plans as operators and project timelines are updated on two sites...

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<div class="row" data-reactroot=""><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="row ci"><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="ci cl"><p>Unit rent prices have risen for the first time in 18 months, recording a 2.5 per cent growth in line with house rent increases. </p><p>Domain’s Rent Report showed that gross house rental yields were now at a record low of 3.56 per cent across the capital cities, while unit rental yields increased 1.1 per cent to 3.95 per cent.</p><p>Investors are moving into the unit market as asking rents for houses hit record highs in Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and Canberra.</p><p>Unit asking rent prices have hit record highs in Brisbane and Canberra, and maintained record levels in Adelaide. </p><p>It is the first time on record that Melbourne has had the lowest house rent of all capital cities. It is the only city in Australia to have house rents lower than before the pandemic. </p><p>Domain chief economist Dr Nicola Powell said renters in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane were starting to shift into cheaper apartment living, which was consistent with rent price rises.</p><p>“[This is] largely being driven by affordability, whether that’s people seeking a better deal or cities that have record high house rents become a strain on budgets,” Powell said.</p><p>“However, space is an important factor for tenants who may have a family or need to share a house. </p><p>“In some cities, it’s clear that tenants are willing to pay a premium for space necessary for their lifestyle, as house rents achieve highs and rise at a faster pace for rentals with more bedrooms.”</p></div></div></div><div class="row ci"><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="ci cl"><p><strong>Houses vs units: quarterly rent changes</strong></p></div></div></div><div class="row ci"><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="ci cl"><div><picture><img src="https://tud-prod-tudmedia-oj9w2zshuo0o.s3.amazonaws.com/raw/images/e6a05448-e78b-4862-a90b-88949bbe927e.png" width="800"/></picture><div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="row ci"><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="ci cl"><p><sup><sub>^Source: Domain Quarterly Rent Report</sub></sup></p></div></div></div><div class="row ci"><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="ci cl"><p>Interstate and regional migration has impacted Melbourne’s asking rents for houses, which are the lowest of all capital cities, according to Powell.</p><p>“Melburnians have grappled with the longest lockdown of any city in the world, and this has contributed to the market&#x27;s weak rental growth,” Powell said.</p><p>“It is a good sign for tenants who are wanting more space and now is the time to negotiate on asking rents to secure a good deal. </p><p>“However, we have seen that vacancy rates have continued to decline, suggesting that the empty pool of rentals will continue to shrink and rents will not stay this low for much longer.”</p></div></div></div><div class="row ci"><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="ci cl"><p><strong>Houses vs units: quarterly rent price changes</strong></p></div></div></div><div class="row ci"><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="ci cl"><table><thead><tr><th>City</th><th>House rent</th><th>Quarterly change</th><th>Unit rent</th><th>Quarterly change</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><th>Sydney</th><th>$580</th><th>▲$30</th><th>$485</th><th>▲$15</th></tr><tr><th>Melbourne</th><th>$430</th><th>-</th><th>$370</th><th>▲$5</th></tr><tr><th>Brisbane</th><th>$460</th><th>▲$10</th><th>$410</th><th>▲$10</th></tr><tr><th>Adelaide</th><th>$440</th><th>▲$10</th><th>$350</th><th>-</th></tr><tr><th>Perth</th><th>$450</th><th>-</th><th>$380</th><th>-</th></tr><tr><th>Canberra</th><th>$645</th><th>▲$15</th><th>$520</th><th>▲$20</th></tr><tr><th>Darwin</th><th>$620</th><th>▲$27</th><th>$470</th><th>▲$20</th></tr><tr><th>Hobart</th><th>$495</th><th>-</th><th>$400</th><th>-</th></tr></tbody></table></div></div></div><div class="row ci"><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="ci cl"><p><sup><sub>^Source: Domain Quarterly Rent Report</sub></sup></p></div></div></div><div class="row ci"><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="ci cl"><p>Capital cities that have escaped harsh lockdowns such as Perth and Hobart have maintained rent asking prices over the quarter. </p><p>This is a positive sign for tenants indicating that after a year of rapid growth, asking rents will start to slow.</p><p>Australian Bureau of Statistics data showed investors had taken up a further 5 per cent of the share of home loan values as first home buyer demand contracted. </p><p>“There’s tailwind behind rising investment activity boosting rental supply, tighter lending could stall this, particularly if we see further moves from the regulators,” Powell said.</p><p>“Some Aussies who made a tree change will start returning to the city as well as people immigrating from other countries will cause vacancy rates to decrease in inner cities driving up rent prices.”</p></div></div></div></div></div>

Unit rent prices have risen for the first time in 18 months recording a 2.5 per cent growth and delivering higher yields than houses...

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<div class="row" data-reactroot=""><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="row ci"><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="ci cl"><p>UBS economists have upgraded their price forecasts for Australia’s <a href="https://theurbandeveloper.com/articles/house-prices-to-fall-10pc-anz">housing market</a>, while looking to stamp duty relief and support for build-to-rent as further reform.</p><p>UBS expects home prices to fall by between 5 and 10 per cent during the next year, an upgrade from its previous forecast of at least a 10 per cent drop.</p><p>“Resilient approvals” combined with the federal government’s <a href="https://theurbandeveloper.com/articles/residential-stimulus-package-to-weather-perfect-storm">home builder scheme</a> have also prompted the investment bank’s economists, led by George Tharenou, to upgrade dwelling starts.</p><p>UBS revised its forecast for dwelling commencements to 153,000, up from 130,000 for this year. </p><p>Tharenou added that the investment bank&#x27;s upgrade is more about the economy than the federal government’s $688 million stimulus, announced on Wednesday.  </p><p>“We still see prices falling, but now only -5 to -10 per cent,” he said.</p><p>On Thursday, ANZ’s economists David Plank and Hayden Dimes said the bank “remains of the view” that dwelling prices will fall into 2021 due to a fall in demand from deteriorating household finances and reduced population growth.</p><p>“Government stimulus may delay this weakness, but it won’t be enough to prevent lower house prices eventually,” Dimes said.</p><p>Corelogic figures show Australia&#x27;s home prices <a href="https://theurbandeveloper.com/articles/house-prices-falls-in-may">fell</a> in May, down 0.4 per cent, but the pace of decline was less than expected.</p><p>“However, a negative factor for investors is rents will face further weakness, as first home buyers exit the rental market, and migration demand stays weak, at least until next year,” Tharenou said.</p><p>While the housing stimulus package was smaller than flagged, Tharenou said there’s talk of more to come, particularly from state governments, such as stamp duty relief or support for build-to-rent. </p><p>UBS says the latest package will largely favour detached housing, given the short timeframe of the stimulus, rather than multi-dwelling projects such as apartments and townhouse complexes.</p><p>The economists expect housing stock to be “resilient” at 96,000, while multi-dwelling projects are forecast to slump to 54,000 from 104,000 in 2018, before recovering in 2021.</p><p>The outlook for Australia&#x27;s dwelling commencements in 2021 remains unrevised at 170,000.</p><p>The unemployment forecast is less severe at 10 per cent, in comparison to its previous 10.5 per cent forecast, although unemployment figures “may not reach that level if momentum continues”.</p><p>Due to border closures, UBS expects estimated &quot;underlying demand&quot; to temporarily slump from 200,000 to 130,000 in late 2020 with migration levels paused.</p><p>ABS figures, released Wednesday, show dwelling<a href="https://theurbandeveloper.com/articles/australia-enters-recession"> approvals</a> fared better than expected in April, although building approvals data is not expected to reflect the Covid-19 impact until August.</p></div></div></div><div class="row ci"><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="ci cl"><hr/></div></div></div></div></div>

  UBS has upgraded its property price forecasts over the next year for Australia’s housing market...

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<div class="row" data-reactroot=""><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="ci cl"><p><strong>Sydney residential property prices fell 1.4 per cent in the September quarter 2017 following positive growth over the last five quarters, their biggest drop in nearly six years.</strong></p><p>Sydney established house prices fell 1.3 per cent and &quot;attached-dwellings&quot; prices fell 1.4 per cent in the September quarter 2017, according to the latest figures by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.</p><p>It was the sharpest fall in prices in Sydney in two years.</p><p>For the weighted average of the eight capital cities, the index fell 0.2 per cent in the September quarter 2017. This was the first fall in the index since the March quarter 2016.</p><p>Falls in the residential property price index were also seen in Perth (-1.0 per cent), Darwin (-2.6 per cent) and Canberra (-0.2 per cent). These were offset by rises in Melbourne (+1.1 per cent), Brisbane (+0.7 per cent), Adelaide (+0.7 per cent) and Hobart (+3.4 per cent).</p><p>[Related reading: <a href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/interest-only-lending-falls-to-record-low-report-">Interest-Only Lending Falls to Record Low: Report</a>]</p><p>Market estimates according to JP Morgan were expecting to see an across the board rise of 0.5 per cent.</p><p>&quot;Residential property prices have continued to moderate across most capital cities this quarter,&quot; chief economist for the ABS Bruce Hockman said.</p><p>The total value of Australia&#x27;s 10 million residential dwellings increased $14.8 billion to $6.8 trillion. The mean price of dwellings in Australia fell by $1,200 over the quarter to $681,100.</p><p>[Related reading:<a href="https://www.theurbandeveloper.com/articles/october-building-approvals-surprise-increase"> October Building Approvals in Surprise Increase</a>]</p><p>Last month, figures from the ABS showed a rise in approvals for construction of new homes of 0.9 per cent, defying analysts&#x27; expectations of a 1.0 per cent decline.</p><p>Housing construction activity has been buoyed by record low interest rates and strong population growth. Victoria was the standout state in the September quarter for dwelling approvals and construction.</p></div></div></div>

Labour Shift Weighs On Property Markets 

<div class="row" data-reactroot=""><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="row ci"><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="ci cl"><p>The latest ABS jobs figures data for the first half of March, released on Thursday, held up better than expected but it is the “calm before the storm”, according to economists.  </p><p>With a residential market <a href="https://theurbandeveloper.com/articles/coronavirus-impact-property-unclear-unemployment-rate-10pc">beset with uncertainty </a>as to exactly how Covid-19 will impact jobs, migration and mobility going forward, house price growth has started to lose momentum. </p><p>Corelogic data through to mid-April has seen combined capital city housing value growth rates slip into negative territory week-on-week for the first time since August last year.</p><p>The headline job numbers are a key indicator of how the housing market will fare going forward, and while the March labour market data did not show a noticeable impact from Covid-19, unemployment won’t remain contained for long.</p><p>Commsec senior economist Ryan Felsman said that job numbers will be volatile in the coming months as the hit to labour demand intensifies. </p><p>“An earlier-than-anticipated return to work for some businesses—supported by additional government stimulus—is critical in the economic recovery phase,” Felsman said.</p><p>“Until a Covid-19 vaccine is found, the economy will likely be susceptible to rolling stoppages as virus outbreaks re-occur, impacting consumer spending and job hiring intentions.” </p><p>UBS has now materially <a href="https://theurbandeveloper.com/articles/stimulus-not-enough-to-offset-house-price-falls-ubs-">revised its forecasts</a> in line with its “full-pandemic <a href="https://theurbandeveloper.com/articles/ubs-give-three-coronavirus-pandemic-scenarios-for-a-reits">scenario</a>” to a decline of at least 10 per cent in house prices over the coming year.</p></div></div></div><div class="row ci"><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="ci cl"><hr/></div></div></div><div class="row ci"><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="ci cl"><p><strong>Rolling 7-day change in dwelling values</strong></p></div></div></div><div class="row ci"><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="ci cl"><div><picture><img src="https://tud-prod-tudmedia-oj9w2zshuo0o.s3.amazonaws.com/raw/images/3c7a24eb-79ce-462a-8b0f-01ba685d6222.png" width="800"/></picture><div><span style="align-content:center;opacity:0.8">▲ Combined capitals. Source: Corelogic</span></div></div></div></div></div><div class="row ci"><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="ci cl"><hr/></div></div></div><div class="row ci"><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="ci cl"><p>Employment minister Michaelia Cash said the small increase in the unemployment rate to 5.2 per cent exceeded all market expectations.</p><p>“While these figures [saw] the creation of 5,900 jobs, the data only represents the early impacts of Covid-19. </p><p>“The government expects the unemployment rate to rise over the coming months.”</p><p>Capital Economics economist Marcel Theliant forecasts that the unemployment rate will hit 12 per cent. Australia’s peak unemployment rate reached 11.2 per cent in 1992.</p><p>“Google searches for ‘unemployment benefits’ surged at the end of March and were on past form consistent with around two million unemployed people, or an unemployment rate of nearly 15 per cent,” Theliant said. </p><p>Corelogic head of research Eliza Owen said that the extent of decline in activity across Corelogic’s platforms show clear signs of a sharp slowdown in housing market activity. </p><p>“With plunging property volumes across listings, and less activity from real estate agents and valuers, there is likely to be a severe drop in the number of properties transacted over the coming months.</p><p>“But less listing activity also speaks to the moderation of supply against less demand for property. This is one reason that property values are unlikely to fall as quickly, or to the same extent, as transaction volumes.</p><p>National cabinet agreed on Thursday that current restrictions will remain in place for at least the next four weeks.</p></div></div></div><div class="row ci"><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="ci cl"><hr/></div></div></div></div></div>

Data through to mid-April has seen a continuation in this trend, with the combined capital city measure slipping into negative territory.

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<div class="row" data-reactroot=""><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="row ci"><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="ci cl"><p><strong>First home buyers have moved into the space cleared by owner-occupiers and investors, increasing their share of the lending market to its highest levels since 2012. </strong></p><p>First home buyers now account for nearly 30 per cent of owner-occupier lending, committing to 8,411 loans in March — the highest in three months. </p><p>ABS lending data for March showed continued declines in owner-occupier and investor lending, declining 15 per cent and 25.9 per cent respectively over the year. </p><p>First home buyers are now the “one area” of recent relative strength, Corelogic economist Cameron Kusher says.</p><p>“This isn’t really a surprise given how much overall demand has waned,” Kusher said.</p><p>“Stamp duty concession in New South Wales and Victoria as well as improving affordability as prices trend lower has also supported a rise in activity.” </p><p>News of the $500 million scheme aimed at first time buyers is expected to first home buyer market share, with the government offering a loan guarantee for buyers struggling to make the 20 per cent deposit. </p><p>The government will underwrite any shortfall of up to 15 per cent of a home’s value. The scheme will be capped at 10,000 annually. Bill Shorten has said Labor will also support the scheme, which will now be available from next year for buyers who earn up to $125,000 — or 200,000 for couples. </p><p>Related: <a href="https://theurbandeveloper.com/articles/first-home-buyer-scheme-may-push-up-house-prices">Will the First Home Buyer Scheme Push Up House Prices?</a></p></div></div></div><div class="row ci"><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="ci cl"><div><picture><img src="https://tud-prod-tudmedia-oj9w2zshuo0o.s3.amazonaws.com/raw/images/f9b8b243-1561-42ad-994c-b74a94a6da4b.jpg" width="920"/></picture><div><span style="align-content:center;opacity:0.8">The $500m first home buyer scheme was unveiled by the Coalition at its formal bid for re-election on Sunday.</span></div></div></div></div></div><div class="row ci"><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="ci cl"><p><br>Housing Industry Association chief economist Tim Reardon said that intervention is necessary to encourage housing investment.</p><p>“Overall housing finance commitments for the construction and purchase of new homes are now 19.4 per cent lower than they were in July 2017,” Reardon said.</p><p>“Governments have introduced a range of measures over the past three years which have all impacted activity in the housing market. [They] should be reversing the punitive measures and replacing them with more prudent measures, such as assisting first home buyers to save a deposit.”</p><p>Falling prices and better deposit affordability will support first home buyers in the market, ANZ economists Adelaide Timbrell and David Plank <a href="https://bluenotes.anz.com/posts/2019/05/aus-housing--green-shoots-appearing">said</a>.</p><p>“Sentiment also supports the view some green shoot for housing are appearing,” Timbrell and Plank said.</p><p>“Recent consumer sentiment surveys suggest a growing number of households believe it is a good time to buy a home. This likely reflects the improvement in affordability brought about by price declines.”</p></div></div></div></div></div>

First home buyers have moved into the space cleared by owner-occupiers and investors, increasing their share of the lending market.

Appartment Approvals1

<div class="row" data-reactroot=""><div class="cell cs12 cx12"><div class="ci cl"><p><strong>The number of Australian home building permits fell by 5 per cent in April from March, led by a sharp drop in in apartment approvals.</strong></p><p>The market was expecting a 3 per cent fall in new home building permit approvals.</p><p>Total building approvals fell to 18,701 in seasonally adjusted terms from 19,693 in March, the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show. </p><p>Approvals for private sector houses were up 0.1 per cent in the month, while the “other dwellings” category, which includes apartment blocks and townhouses, fell 11.5 per cent.</p><p>Australia’s <a href="https://theurbandeveloper.com/articles/hsbc-cuts-forecast-for-sydney-and-melbourne-housing-prices">national housing prices have averaged an 8 per cent growth</a> over the past five years, buffering the economy as the nation transitioned from the mining boom.</p><p>The fall in building approvals and easing in house prices will have ramifications for the economy, according to AMP economist Diana Mousina.</p><p>&quot;Over the past few years, the strong gains in home prices have allowed households to draw down on savings, which has been positive for consumption.”</p><p>&quot;But looking ahead, the savings ratio is unlikely to move significantly lower, which is a constraint for consumer spending,&quot; Mousina added.</p><p>&quot;A weakening consumer is a large downside risk for the Australian economy.&quot;</p><p>Related reading: <a href="https://theurbandeveloper.com/articles/hsbc-cuts-forecast-for-sydney-and-melbourne-housing-prices">HSBC Cuts Forecast for Sydney and Melbourne Housing Prices</a></p><p>The Housing Industry Association were more positive, pointing out that performance of new detached houses remained strong.</p><p>“The volume of approvals for new detached houses is at its strongest in 15 years,” HIA senior economist Shane Garrett said. </p><p>“Strong demand for new houses is being sustained by healthy rates of population growth – itself a product of robust labour markets in Australia’s largest cities.”</p><p>The ACT saw the largest expansion in new dwelling approvals during April 2018 with an increase of 39.2 per cent compared with a year earlier. Over the same period, approvals grew in Victoria (+25.8 per cent), Tasmania (+15.2 per cent) and South Australia (+1.9 per cent). </p><p>Building approvals fell in four markets over the year to April: Queensland (-11.5 per cent), the NT (-6.6 per cent), NSW (-5.4 per cent) and WA (-3.0 per cent). </p><p>Figures this month from the ABS show that <a href="https://theurbandeveloper.com/articles/construction-slowing-in-nsw-growing-in-victoria-">Australia’s construction sector is steadying</a> with the value of construction work in the March quarter rising by just 0.2 per cent, missing forecasts of a 1.3 per cent gain.</p><p>The value of residential construction took a dive over the year, dropping 1.3 per cent while engineering and non-residential construction picked up the slack with 10.3 and 5.4 per cent increases respectively.</p></div></div></div>

The number of Australian home building permits fell by 5 per cent in April from March, led by a sharp drop in in apartment approvals. The market was 

AUSTRALIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS