Australia’s house prices have rebounded by up to $3000 a week

It’s no secret that Australia’s property market has rebounded in recent months, and this has been quantified by Deloitte Access Economics’ latest Business Outlook, noting the average dwelling prices in Sydney had risen by about $3,000 per week in September.

Melbourne wasn’t far behind, experiencing a bounce of about $2,500 a week — and Deloitte is predicting “more to come”, noting that housing-related lending has started to climb and auction clearance rates were returning to ‘boomtime’ levels.

The turnaround has been fairly dramatic after prices fell in both cities by about $2000 a week from late 2018 to early 2019.

Two interest rate cuts, tax cuts and reduced uncertainty have played a large part in these uplifting figures. Australia’s two largest cities, Sydney and Melbourne, have seen the biggest turnaround in house values, while Brisbane has remained fairly strong throughout. 

In fact, in August, the first month-on-month rise in the national index since values peaked in October 2017 was recorded, with dwelling values increasing over the month across all capital cities except for Adelaide, Perth and Darwin.

“The rebound in Sydney’s housing prices is welcome,” the report said. “It will help NSW by boosting retail and housing construction.”

The report went on to quell fears that this sudden uplift will leave the property market in the same situation it found itself in earlier this year. Deloitte believes the market will not flip straight into ‘bubble mode’.

“Some of the current rebound in housing prices is happening simply because the mood among buyers has recovered faster than sellers have rejoined the market.”

This has been evident in the fact that the recent upturn in clearance rates would have normally led to a 10 per cent jump in Sydney and Melbourne’s house prices — this is not expected to happen to that extent this time.

What is expected is a more gradual, more sustained rise in the price of property, which could, Deloitte notes, lead to a resurgence in the retail sector as consumers feel reassured about their wealth. 

Click here to read more market insights.