Now into our second week of 2022, our team here have truly settled in and back to work, heads down and fully focused on the year ahead. We trust you are keeping as healthy as possible in the face of this Omicron tsunami that’s ripping through our communities and causing massive disruptions to daily life and placing a huge strain on our medical services.
Despite the pandemic and the talk of a likelihood of increased interest rates later in the year, the forecast for the property market by leading commentators and analysts is still extremely positive. It is predicted that national housing values will continue to rise in the short term despite some of the headwinds building. Also, over time as international migration recommences, there will be further pressure on the housing market in terms of demand, with capital cities, bearing a significant portion of new arrivals.
Some key observations from CoreLogic’s most recent report include:
- Australian housing values were 1.0% higher in December, slowing from a 1.3% rise in November, continuing the softening trend in the monthly growth rate that has been evident since the national index moved through a cyclical high of 2.8% growth in March 2021.
- As dwelling value appreciation slows, conditions are becoming more diverse amongst the capital cities and regional areas of Australia. Across the capitals, the monthly change ranged from a 0.1% fall in Melbourne housing values (the first month-on-month fall in Melbourne housing values since October 2020), through to a 2.9% surge in Brisbane dwelling values. Brisbane and Adelaide, along with regional Queensland, are the only broad regions where there is no evidence of value growth slowing just yet, with the monthly rate of growth reaching a new cyclical high in December.
CoreLogic’s Research Director Tim Lawless said: “These regions show less of an affordability challenge relative to the larger capitals, as well as better support for housing demand with Queensland in particular showing strong interstate migration. Additionally, we haven’t seen the same level of supply response seen in other regions, with the trend in advertised supply remaining well below average in these markets.”
Regional Australian housing values have seen some renewed momentum with a monthly rise of 2.2%, the highest in nine months. Regional Queensland was the clear standout across the rest-of-state markets in December, with housing values up 2.4%.
The most popular regional markets have seen housing values rise more than 30% over the calendar year, with the Southern Highlands and Shoalhaven recording the highest annual rise in home values at 37.7%, followed by Queensland’s Sunshine Coast at 33.7%.
All in all – after an unprecedented 2021, there may be a slight softening in 2022, but it’s not anticipated to be significant; the outlook is particularly positive for key lifestyle coastal regions such as Mount Coolum, and if people want to move here, well, quite frankly, who can blame them!