PHOTO: Under APRA’s new proposal, lenders would be permitted to review and set their own minimum interest-rate floor for use in serviceability assessments. Photo: Sarah Rhodes
House prices have fallen nationally by just 2 per cent over the last March-to-June quarter in a sign that government stimulus measures are managing to counter much of the COVID-19 drag.
At a time when unemployment is rising and household incomes are shrinking, the latest Domain House Price Report, released Thursday, shows a glimmer of hope that the economy isn’t taking such a massive hit as had originally been feared.
House prices have fallen nationally by just 2 per cent over the last March-to-June quarter in a sign that government stimulus measures are managing to counter much of the COVID-19 drag.
At a time when unemployment is rising and household incomes are shrinking, the latest Domain House Price Report, released Thursday, shows a glimmer of hope that the economy isn’t taking such a massive hit as had originally been feared.
“The outlook for the housing market is definitely more stable than the broader economy,” said Domain senior research analyst Nicola Powell. “While prices in most capital cities have declined, the falls have been minimal to date.
“The unprecedented government stimulus with HomeBuilder, JobKeeper and JobSeeker, mortgage holidays, low stock levels and record low interest rates are shielding values from any significant declines, and helping to retain stability in the housing market,” Dr Powell said.
Melbourne so far has borne the greatest brunt of the price slump, with houses down 3.5 per cent, while Sydney has shown the second-biggest drop at 2 per cent and Perth the third at 1.5 per cent. Brisbane houses are down by 1.4 per cent, and Darwin by 1 per cent.
| HOUSES | |||||
| Capital City | Jun-20 | Mar-20 | Jun-19 | QoQ | YoY |
| Sydney | $1,143,012 | $1,165,993 | $1,034,843 | -2.0% | 10.5% |
| Melbourne | $881,369 | $913,277 | $824,580 | -3.5% | 6.9% |
| Brisbane | $582,847 | $590,930 | $569,297 | -1.4% | 2.4% |
| Adelaide | $553,036 | $552,031 | $536,859 | 0.2% | 3.0% |
| Canberra | $819,090 | $786,888 | $749,372 | 4.1% | 9.3% |
| Perth | $522,414 | $530,358 | $529,839 | -1.5% | -1.4% |
| Hobart | $529,388 | $521,843 | $481,468 | 1.4% | 10.0% |
| Darwin | $516,213 | $521,574 | $516,715 | -1.0% | -0.1% |
| National | $804,602 | $820,685 | $755,065 | -2.0% | 6.6% |
Source: Domain House Price Report, June quarter, 2020
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