Australia’s housing market endured a challenging period in 2022 - with successive interest rate hikes rapidly decreasing borrowing capacity and limiting potential buyers in the market.
Adelaide, Brisbane and Perth are the strongest markets and sitting at peak prices, with Sydney just 0.03 per cent away from reaching pandemic heights. Prices are still 4.27 per cent below pandemic highs, with home prices rising 0.25 per cent last month.Regional markets remain down 0.78 per cent from their April 2022 peak but regional South Australia and Queensland continue to outperform other markets.Anne Flaherty, an economist, PropTrack told news.com.au the promising figures for capital cities were “surprising”.
“We don’t think demand will go backwards and prices are predicted to continue rising off the back of population growth, but we don’t expect it to be as strong as it was during the pandemic years.”“Looking ahead, interest rates have likely peaked, and population growth is rebounding strongly,” she said.“As we head further into spring, more markets are likely to reverse 2022’s fast falls to set new peaks.”The situation continues to frustrate thousands of hopeful first home buyers.