New research from Mortgage Choice shows more Australians expect house prices to rise rather than stabilise over the next 12 months.
The company’s 2016 Money Survey reveals that of the 1030 respondents, 32.5% anticipate house prices to increase over the coming 12 months, compared to 25.3% that thought prices would stabilise over the next year.
Around a quarter (25.1%) believes prices are likely to fall in the next 12 months, with the remainder unsure about potential movements in house prices.
Mortgage Choice CEO, John Flavell, says how optimistic people are about the future of property prices depends on where they live.
He highlights CoreLogic RP Data figures that shows dwelling values have climbed across all of the eastern capital cities over the last 12 months – by 9.8% in Melbourne, 7.4% in Sydney, 4.5% in Brisbane and 3.2% in Adelaide.
However, dwelling values fell by 2% in Perth and by 1.8% in Darwin over the same timeframe.
Reflecting this, Western Australian residents were least positive about the future of property prices in the state – more than half (55.4%) expect house prices to fall over the next 12 months.
However, Queenslanders were the most optimistic about rising house prices (46.8%), followed by Victorians (43%).
“Australia’s property market isn’t a single market. It is made up of many different markets, some of which are thriving and some are not,” says Flavell.
“The reality is, the property market is cyclical in nature. In other words, property prices will rise and fall over time. So, while dwelling values have fallen in Perth over the last 12 months, that doesn’t mean to see we won’t see an improvement in this market over the short to medium term.”
Flavell says the property market as a whole remains “relatively robust”.
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