Yahoo Finance Latest property figures bad news for some first home buyers
Australia’s sliding property market may have been watched with horror by home owners, but for those aching to enter the market, it offered a sliver of hope.
However, new research released by property analytics firm CoreLogic reveals that hope may have been misplaced.
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Throughout the 2018-19 financial year, the share of home sales transacting for less than $400,000 across capital cities remained largely unchanged from the year before, despite the property market as a whole sliding 8.7 per cent for houses and 5.9 per cent for units.
“Throughout the 2018-19 financial year, 26.0 per cent of all houses sold nationally were under $400,000 and 32.5 per cent of all unit sales were under $400,000,” research analyst Cameron Kusher said.
To put that into perspective, the year before, the share of units selling for less than $400,000 was slightly higher at 26.3 per cent, and the share of houses selling for less than $400,000 was only 31 per cent.
“It is interesting to note that the share of unit sales under $400,000 has increased much more for units than houses,” Kusher said.
Across regional Australia, the share of houses selling for less than $400,000 is much higher - 42.8 per cent. It’s the same case for unit sales, with 54.3 per cent of sales being for properties less than $400,000.
And where the share has remained largely unchanged in capital cities, for home buyers in regional areas, the share of properties selling for less than $400,000 has “seen a sizeable decline”.
In the 2017-18 financial year, 44.1 per cent of house sales and 55.6 per cent of unit sales were below $400,000.
“The next financial year could look very different to what we have seen over the 2018-19 financial year,” Kusher added.
“We’re only in mid-August and we’ve already seen interest rates reduced twice, serviceability floors on mortgages reduced and some recent rises in dwelling values in the largest capital cities.
“While a significant rise in dwelling values isn’t expected, there is an expectation of a moderate increase in dwelling values, as a result the 2019-20 financial year is expected to see fewer sales under $400,000 than those recorded in 2018-19.”
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