Covid pushes Sydney, Brisbane house prices up by more than 20 per cent

PHOTO: Australian house prices

Aussie house prices were “turbocharged” by the Covid-19 pandemic, with Sydney the hardest hit as buyers are expected to need an extra $125,000 to snap up a property.

KPMG modelling found Sydneysiders would be slugged an extra 26 per cent by December 2023 to buy a home, double the increase in price compared to if the pandemic hadn’t occurred.

A house in Sydney will cost on average $1.24 million by 2023, compared to $1.19 million if the pandemic had not surfaced, whacking an extra $125,000 premium on to the cost of property.

It’s a huge increase too with the median Sydney house price in late 2019 sitting at $986,000, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Canberra was the second city expected to be tough for home buyers with a 23 per cent rise in house values due to the pandemic, compared to just 14 per cent if it hadn’t happened.

An average house in the nation’s capital is set to come in at $913,000 adding a covid premium of $67,000 to the cost of a place. The median house price in late 2019 was just $745,000 in Canberra.

For those looking to buy in Brisbane, they will have to fork out an extra $60,000 to secure a house in December 2023 as house prices jump 20 per cent due to the pandemic. This will take the average house cost to $661,000 as a result of the covid premium, compared to $601,000 without the pandemic.