Finder experts favour property investment in Melbourne and Brisbane over Sydney
Sydney is not the most attractive capital city in which to invest your property dollar, according to the latest Finder RBA Cash Rate Survey.
The majority of experts and economists said they would rather invest $500,000 in the likes of Melbourne and Brisbane.
It was an even split, with 27 per cent saying Melbourne and 27 per cent saying Brisbane. Sydney was on a par with Canberra at 14 per cent of participations asked.
Graham Cooke, insights manager at Finder, said the vast majority of economists chose to steer clear of advising investment in Sydney.
“Sydney has traditionally been Australia’s darling in the property market, but it is no longer the belle of the ball," Cooke noted
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“Prices have just started to recover after falling nearly 15% from the heady days of 2017, but sales volumes are still low and many investors and potential sellers are in a holding pattern.
“While prices fell across the board, the ratio of house prices relative to income is still higher in Sydney than in other cities, which may slow the bounceback somewhat compared to Melbourne and Brisbane.
“On the bright side, both prices and auction clearance rates are slowly heading in the right direction in the Harbour City, but these results indicate that the previous market highs are still a way off,” Cooke said.
Only 45 per cent of experts said the property market had turned a corner and that prices will continue to rise.
A further 41 per cent expected prices to remain at their current level for a while, with only 14 per cent predicting a further drop in prices.
Cooke said the results are a clear indication that recent gains are not the product of a ‘dead-cat bounce’.
“Recent clearance rates and sale prices in Sydney and Melbourne are tentative but positive.”
“Potential first time buyers may not be buying at the bottom of the market, but there is still plenty of value to be had with home loans at record lows,” Cooke said.