To buy or not to buy? Australian housing prices set to shift

PHOTO: The number of houses for sale last weekend is down compared to the same weekend in 2018, according to CoreLogic data. Picture: istock. Source:Supplied

Australia’s housing market is in a situation that can’t possibly continue.

A high auction clearance rate and prices rising sharply, plus really low amounts of stock being put up for sale? That’s got to change one way or another.

If prices keep rising, more people will come to the table to sell their house. The other possibility is the recent lift in property market is a temporary blip.

So which is it?

Spring selling season is going to bring us the answer.

The next several months represent the usual peak of the housing market, when buyers and sellers come together en masse to trade homes. If buyers are excited, numerous and ready to borrow, house prices will likely rise. If sellers are excited, numerous and in a hurry to sell, then house prices could level off again, or begin to fall.

One theory is the weak state of the economy will soon take a hold in the housing market and buyers will get nervous.