Melbourne house prices to fall until APRIL and won't recover for TWO YEARS... and Australia's other capitals aren't safe either
- Economists in Finder poll predicting two years of Melbourne house price falls
- Melbourne's median house price plunged by 1.4 per cent in July - fourth in a row
- Sydney's equivalent values dropped one per cent - third consecutive month
- CoreLogic feared end to mortgage repayment holidays would worsen downturn
- COVID-19 lockdowns, trading restrictions expected to hurt real estate market
Melbourne house prices are expected to continue falling for another two years - as an escalation of the coronavirus crisis further erodes values in Australia's biggest cities.
Almost a third, or seven, of the 24 economists surveyed by financial comparison website Finder predicted property prices in the Victorian capital wouldn't recover until 2022.
Three-quarters or 18 out of those 24 experts predicted prices in Melbourne would keep falling until at least April 2021.
Melbourne's median house price plunged in July for the fourth straight month, with real estate data group CoreLogic fearing new stage four lockdowns and curfews would discourage people from buying a home.
Melbourne house prices are expected to continue falling for another two years with an escalation of the coronavirus crisis causing values to fall in Australia's biggest cities. Almost a third, or seven, of the 24 economists surveyed by financial comparison Finder predicted property prices in the Victorian capital wouldn't recover until 2022. Pictured is Flinders Street Station on August 2 as a new curfew was introduced in a bid to curb coronavirus
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Finder insights manager Graham Cooke said COVID-19 volatility was weighing down property values as rising unemployment killed a recovery that began a year ago.
'It is clear that there is widespread uncertainty in the market as to what prices will be in the near future,' he said.
Melbourne's median house price dived by 1.4 per cent in July - marking the fourth straight month of decline, CoreLogic data showed.
Sydney's median house price last month dropped by one per cent, putting it just $2,107 above the psychological $1million mark as prices fell for the third month in a row.
CoreLogic's head of research Tim Lawless said capital city real estate values would face more challenges from March as extended mortgage repayment holidays ended.
'Urgent sales are likely to become more common as we approach these milestones, which will test the market's resilience,' he said.
New stage four lockdowns in Melbourne and a new 8pm to 5am curfew were also expected to hurt Australia's broader property market.
'Similarly, the recent concerns of a second wave of the virus and the potential for renewed border closures and stricter social distancing policies are likely to further push consumer sentiment down,' Mr Lawless said.
'This is likely to weigh on both home buying and selling activity more broadly.'
For now, Mr Lawless said more expensive suburbs in Sydney and Melbourne were being harder hit as the COVID-19 crisis worsened.
Sydney's median house price last month dropped by one per cent, putting it just $2,107 above the psychological $1million mark as prices fell for the third month in a row. Pictured is Bondi Beach
'Higher value markets tend to be more reactive to changes in the economic environment, having led both the upswing and the downturn over the previous cycle,' he said.
Brisbane's median house prices slipped by 0.3 per cent, going backwards for the second straight month, as Perth's equivalent values fell by 0.6 per cent - the third month of decline.
Hobart, Australia's best performing housing market until last year, last month suffered a 0.4 per cent.
Bucking the trend, Canberra's median house price rose by 0.7 per cent as Adelaide's increased by 0.1 per cent.
Economist Saul Eslake, the founder of Corinna Economic Advisory, predicted the Reserve Bank of Australia would leave interest rates on hold at a record-low of 0.2 5 per cent until 2023.
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