75 percent of investors expect property prices to rise in 2021

An overwhelming majority of respondents to Australian Property Investor’s latest Buyer Sentiment Survey say they are expecting prices to rise in 2021.

It's a reversal on the previous survey’s results which showed nearly half of those polled were tipping home values to fall.

More than 75 per cent of respondents said they were expecting house prices to rise in 2021 in the Q4 survey, as compared to just 14 per cent in Q3.

On the flipside, just 7 per cent of respondents said they expected values to drop in the next 12 months, down from 47 per cent in Q3.

“The results are in line with soaring consumer confidence,” API editor Dan Wilkie said.

“Buyers have been red hot in the back end of 2020," he said, adding many are clearly expecting the "momentum to continue to build next year.”

Queensland was the state of choice for buyers, with 31 per cent of respondents saying they had their eye on the Sunshine State.

Victoria was next at 26 per cent or respondents, followed by NSW at 23 per cent.

Just 12 per cent of respondents said they intended to buy in Perth.

“Brisbane, the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast have become highlights of the Australian market as Melbourne and Sydney buyers moved north this year,” Mr Wilkie said.

Housing affordability emerged as the biggest concern for those surveyed, replacing tenants’ ability to pay rent due to COVID as the top worry in Q3.

A vast majority of respondents (53 per cent) said a detached house was their property of choice, followed by townhouse or villa at 17 per cent, while 13 per cent of respondents said they were considering buying an apartment.

The survey received more than 300 responses, 63 per cent of which were property investors.

New South Wales accounted for 32 per cent of survey responses, Victoria 29 per cent and Queensland 19 per cent.