National real estate snapshot


Australia's housing market has been running at full pelt since 2012 and is now taking a breather. Spectacular growth can be interesting for some, as the people who bought off-the-plan apartments in Sydney's west are now finding, with sale prices below purchase prices. Property surveyor, Herron Todd White, reports a spike in defaults and bank repossessions in Darwin and Perth, and, according to CoreLogic, Brisbane apartments have plunged 20% from their peak. Melbourne, having already peaked, now also looks to be on the downside of the curve, while, coming from a lower base, Adelaide is the only major city showing a glimmer of hope.

NAB has revised its capital city house price forecasts for 2018 from a 0.7% rise to a 0.8% fall. Its view is that Hobart will continue to kick goals and Sydney will continue to slide, as will unit prices in Sydney, Brisbane and Perth.

‘People are saying, 'Is this the start of a major correction?', and the answer to that is no," reckons NAB Chief Economist Alan Oster. According to Oster, investors are retreating and, yes, it’s a decline but not Armageddon.

The other little-considered variable is the impact of the Royal Commission. The revelations of risky lending by banks has certainly put a dampener on their enthusiasm for providing loans to almost anyone, otherwise known as ‘tightening lending standards’. Less credit means less money to bid up prices. The laws of supply and demand never lie, eh?  

The good news it that Loan Market is not a bank - nor is it owned in any way by a bank. Our mission is simple; to negotiate with over 35 lenders from the Big4 to specialty lenders to get the most competitive deal for our client’s situation. With a shifting market, it pays to get a Loan Market broker working for you and your clients – we’ll keep the banks honest.