2019 ‘may be worse’ for housing

PHOTO: Harry Triguboff

Billionaire apartment developer Harry Triguboff has warned this year could be worse than 2018 for Sydney and Melbourne’s already battered housing markets.

The Meriton founder called for easing of taxes to coax foreign buyers back into the market and for young people to be able to access their superannuation to buy a home.

“It may be as bad as last year, it may be worse,” he told The Australian. “Australia is completely dependent on the Chinese (buyers). (The slowdown) must affect the broader economy.”

Mr Triguboff added that number of borrowers in negative equity was growing, but banks so far were not calling in loans. “And people are paying,” he told the paper. “In some ways the banks are doing a good job — they are not sending people to the wall.”

Sydney and Melbourne’s house prices have fallen about 10 per cent from their 2017 highs and most economists have revised their forecasts downward ahead of the release of the banking royal commission’s final report on Monday.