Sydney and Melbourne house prices fall $10,000 in four weeks despite COVID restrictions on auctions and open homes easing – and it’s going to get worse
- Sydney’s median house price dropped by 0.6 per cent or $10,000 in May 2020
- It was first monthly drop in a year despite easing of COVID-19 inspection rules
- Melbourne’s mid-point value fell by even more dramatic 1.1 per cent last month
- This occurred despite state governments allowing public auctions to resume
- Here’s how to help people impacted by Covid-19
Sydney and Melbourne house prices have dropped despite the easing of coronavirus restrictions on open homes and public auctions.
Property prices in Australia’s biggest cities have been resilient through the COVID-19 pandemic so far.
While the worst of the lockdowns may be over, the effects on real estate are only just beginning.
Median house prices in Sydney fell by 0.6 per cent in May, marking the first monthly drop in a year, CoreLogic data showed.
Median house prices in Sydney fell by 0.6 per cent in May, marking the first monthly drop in a year, CoreLogic data showed. Home values dropped by almost $10,000 in just four weeks to $1.017million. Pictured is a unit that was sold at Cronulla in Sydney’s south
Home values dropped by almost $10,000 in just four weeks to $1.017million.
Melbourne’s mid-point house prices fell by an even more dramatic 1.1 per cent in May, with values falling for the second consecutive month to $809,274 – or also by almost $10,000.
The slide in house prices occurred even though the New South Wales and Victorian governments both allowed public auctions and open home inspections to resume in May with social distancing and crowd limits in place.
The news on the coronavirus effect on property was released amid speculation the federal government would offer $40,000 handouts to first-home buyers to either build or renovate their house or apartment as part of a possible $4billion package.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison confirmed his Treasurer Josh Frydenberg was working on a stimulus measure to prop up the home construction sector.
‘We’ve been looking closely at the residential building sector,’ he told Sydney radio 2GB broadcaster Ben Fordham.
‘We’re not making announcements on that today but the Treasurer’s been doing some good work with some of the states as well who are interested in working on those issues.’
The early stages of coronavirus are particularly affecting NSW, with the value of construction work diving by 17.3 per cent in the year to March.
Melbourne’s mid-point house prices fell by an even more dramatic 1.1 per cent in May, with values falling for the second consecutive month to $809,274 – or also by almost $10,000
This was the worst annual decline in 19 years, the Australian Bureau of Statistics data showed.
The COVID-19 pandemic is also affecting house prices in other capital cities, although to a lesser extent.
In Brisbane, house prices were last month flat at $559,975 while in Perth, they fell 0.6 per cent to $461,366.
Darwin suffered the biggest drop of 0.9 per cent, with median house prices now at $473,861.
House prices, however, continued to rise in some cities with Hobart’s median value rising by 0.8 per cent to $514,496.
Canberra’s equivalent price last month rose 0.7 per cent to $716,663 in the national capital where the federal public service is the main employer.
In Brisbane, house prices were last month flat at $559,975 while in Perth, they fell 0.6 per cent to $461,366. Pictured is a house inspection at Bulimba in May 2020 as COVID-19 restrictions were eased