Why you need to buy NOW: How Australian house prices are expected to rise by double-digits in 2020
- The new First Home Loan Deposit Scheme comes into effect on January 1, 2020
- It means buyers will be able to get a home loan with only a five per cent deposit
- Starr Partners chief Doug Driscoll is expecting buyer ‘stampede’ in the new year
Australian house prices are expected to rise by double-digits in 2020 – starting in January.
From the start of next year, first-home buyers will be able to get a home loan with a five per cent deposit.
Taxpayers will be funding the rest of the 20 per cent deposit, under the federal government’s new $500million First Home Loan Deposit Scheme.
Doug Driscoll, the chief executive of New South Wales real estate agent Starr Partners, said this would spark a short-lived flurry of activity in the new year among housing newcomers, particularly in Sydney.
Australian house prices are expected to rise by double-digits in 2020 – starting in January. Doug Driscoll, the chief executive of New South Wales real estate agent Starr Partners, said this would spark a short-lived flurry of activity in the new year among housing newcomers, particularly in Sydney (Strathfield auction pictured)
‘While I stand by my argument that this was a pre-election gimmick by the Coalition government to win votes, it will undoubtedly lead to an immediate stampede of first home buyer numbers in the first few weeks of next year,’ he said.
‘This is a “first-in, best-dressed” scenario, so I won’t be surprised to see first home buyer numbers slow once these spots are filled.’
The broader housing market is also expected to recover next year, with Mr Driscoll forecasting median property price increases of up to 10 per cent.
‘With relatively low property stock continuing alongside increased buyer interest, house prices will rise between five and 10 per cent next year, depending on the suburb – if the political and economic environment remains stable,’ he said.
Starr Partners operates in Sydney, the Central Coast and Newcastle.
Since June, property prices in Sydney and Melbourne have been recovering, partially recovering a downturn that began in 2017.
From the start of next year, first-home buyers will be able to get a home loan with a five per cent deposit. Taxpayers will be funding the rest of the 20 per cent deposit, under the federal government’s new $500million First Home Loan Deposit Scheme (stock image)
From the peak in July 2017 to the trough this year, Sydney’s median house prices slumped by 17.4 per cent, CoreLogic data showed.
While prices have recovered in Australia’s biggest city for four straight months, the median house price of $918,314 is still 12.5 per cent weaker than it was at the height of the boom.
Starr Partners CEO Scott Driscoll (pictured) is expecting Sydney prices to rise 10 per cent in 2020
Mr Driscoll predicted Sydney house prices would improve in 2020 but be unlikely to surpass the levels of 2017, when Sydney’s median house price stood at $1,049,740.
He expected property owners to hold off selling until later in the year, hoping for the market to peak again.
‘For this reason, Sydney property buyers might be rewarded with more stock at the end of 2020,’ Mr Driscoll said.
‘Once this happens, prices will creep closer to their early 2017 levels – though won’t quite reach them.’
Perth has missed out on the housing market recovery, with median house prices diving by 8.6 per cent in the year to October.
Dwelling values are 17 per cent weaker than where they were in mid-2014.