PHOTO: The house price curve took a sharp dive from 2017, but was recovering before coronavirus hit. (ABC News)
Experts say a decline in Australian house prices since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic is not yet anywhere near as steep as other historic market crashes, but this time there’s little ammunition left to blast the economy — and the real estate industry — out of a trough.
Key points:
- Combined capital city property values were recovering before coronavirus
- There are concerns the pandemic will lead to a protracted downturn
- Values in some cities have so far been relatively unaffected by the virus
The most recent figures show residential property values in Australia declined for the second consecutive month as the impact of the coronavirus pandemic took its toll on the market.
In CoreLogic’s latest home value index national values fell 0.7 per cent in June, following on from a 0.4 per cent decline in May.
However, with the Federal Government currently pouring hundreds of billions of dollars into the economy, home owners will not know for months whether the current decline can be halted, or if it will continue its downwards trajectory once those stimulus measures dry up.
How was the market before COVID-19 hit?
CoreLogic head of research Tim Lawless said the recent market downturn since 2017 was already much larger than previous fluctuations, even before the virus took hold.
The national property market had been in a recovery phase after plunging 10.2 per cent from a peak in 2017, until coronavirus hit.
