Australia: Strengthening dwelling price recovery – Westpac

Sandeep Kanihama FXStreet Contributor

Matthew Hassan, senior economist at Westpac, suggests that the recovery in Australian dwelling prices that began in mid-2019 accelerated in the final quarter, sustaining a robust pace into year end.

Key Quotes

“The CoreLogic home value index, covering the eight major capital cities, rose 1.2% in the Dec month following a very strong 2.0% gain in Nov and a 1.4% rise in Oct, giving a 4.7% gain for the final quarter. Prices rose 3% for the year as a whole – a 7% rebound in the second half more than offsetting a 3.8% decline in the first.”

“Prices nationally have recovered just over half of the 2017-19 correction. They are still 3.9% below their 2017 peak but at the current pace will regain that level by mid-2020.”

“Several factors contributed to the turnaround in 2019 including: reduced uncertainty around housing-related tax policy following the Federal election; 75bps in official rate cuts from the RBA; and some easing in regulatory guidelines around loan serviceability assessments.”

Author

Sandeep Kanihama

FXStreet Contributor

Sandeep Kanihama is an FX Editor and Analyst with FXstreet having principally focus area on Asia and European markets with commodity, currency and equities coverage. He is stationed in the Indian capital city of Delhi.

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