Looking Back, Looking Forward

We’re now in the final month of the 2018 property calendar, a customary time for the “experts” to review the year that was and forecast their predictions for the next.

While it would be natural to expect any analysis of the past to be the same, it won’t be. Every data house uses their own methodology for property research, so the final results are almost always somewhat different. What is agreed, though, is that the Australian market has probably never been more segmented, with performance between capital cities and even between suburbs within those cities varying widely.

Many consumers are worried about what’s coming next for our property markets. Largely, this sentiment is driven by the media’s love of sensationalist predictions of doom and gloom plus the uncertainties within the banking sector due to the Royal Commission. In reality, though, the fundamental drivers for major price corrections are just not evident, especially outside of Sydney & Melbourne. The official cash rate is likely to remain flat all year, unemployment is low, and there’s continuing demand from both domestic and overseas investors.

In most areas, 2018 has been a good year. For most areas, 2019 probably will be too. That’s our view.