Arabic version: مُلّاك شباب يتقبّلون تراجع العقارات لتحسين القدرة على الشراء
According to The Guardian, some recent Australian homebuyers are prepared to accept falling property values if lower prices improve access to home ownership. The downturn has arrived as higher borrowing costs, a weak economy and changes to property-investor tax treatment weigh on the market.
Alex Hogan and his partner Maxine bought land in Everton Hills, Queensland, after being locked out of the established housing market. They planned to build a family home, but rapidly rising construction costs and a lower expected value for the finished property have narrowed their options. The couple are also considering whether they can afford another child.
Hogan, 41, said the government should keep pursuing housing-affordability measures despite the effects on owners. He said lower valuations could be difficult to absorb, but argued that was preferable to a “two-tier society” divided between long-term renters and landlords.
National house prices had fallen 3.6% from their peak earlier in the year, Cotality data showed, with Sydney recording particularly steep declines. Some analysts have forecast falls of more than 10%, while the source said a 26% surge in prices over the three years to March had left newer buyers especially exposed to recent weakness.
Melbourne apartment owner Eibhlinn Cassidy said a decline could raise pressure when they refinance next year, but viewed it as a small price for a long overdue market adjustment. In Canberra, business owner Remy Coll said falling prices prevented him from selling his former outer-suburbs home after buying in the inner north, leaving him with two mortgages and tenants he did not intend to have.
KPMG economist Terry Rawnsley said buyers who do not need to sell may be able to wait out what he described as a theoretical paper loss. He said stress could be greater for people who bought within the past 12 to 18 months or need to refinance. Prices are expected to rise again once the RBA begins cutting interest rates, which the source said was likely in 2028.
