Buyers expect property prices to keep rising in 2017: Westpac

Buyers expect property prices to keep rising in 2017: Westpac
Staff ReporterDecember 7, 2020

The Westpac Melbourne Institute Consumer House Price Expectations Index has continued to firm, rising a further 7.5 percent since October, according to the Red Book January 2017 report.

At 149.6 the index is back near the highs of early 2015.

A strong majority of consumers nationally expect prices to rise over the next 12 months with 13.2 percent predicting double digit growth and 49.7 percent expecting single digit increases. Just 26.2 percent expect prices to hold with 10.9 percent predicting price declines.

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Buyers expect property prices to keep rising in 2017: Westpac

Price measures are now giving a more consistent messages on actual price growth with all showing a lift and two of the four major measures suggesting gains tracking at a 10 percent annual pace over the second half 2016.

Consumers in NSW and Victoria remain considerably more bullish on price growth. The biggest lift in expectations over the last three months has been in WA (+18.7 percent) followed by NSW (+7.2 percent).

While the latter looks to be responding to a renewed quickening in price growth, the shift in expectations in WA looks more tentative.

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Buyers expect property prices to keep rising in 2017: Westpac 

Price expectations have been much weaker in WA as actual prices out west have recorded persistent declines.

Although WA consumers now look to be anticipating a stabilisation, similar expectations in mid 2016 proved premature and the latest firming has yet to be reflected in any moderation in actual price declines.

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