One in Two Aussies Believe Now’s a Good Time to Buy Property

New research has found more than half of Australians believe property prices in their area will increase over the next 12 months, and roughly the same number believe now is a good time to buy.

Comparison site Finder asked 6077 Australians over six months for their opinions on the property market. They found the majority of home owners view the market in a favorable light, with 59 per cent saying they thought now was a good time for buying a home in Melbourne, and 52 per cent believing that properties in their area would be worth more in a year.

Finder’s Bessie Hassan said the results showed consumer attitudes towards property were “slowly but steadily” improving.

“This is likely driven by three recent cash-rate cuts, increased lending flexibility and some certainty from the presumed continuation of negative gearing,” she said.

The survey comes after four consecutive months of price growth in Sydney and Melbourne, with prices in Australia’s two largest cities now up more than 4 per cent since June.

Wakelin Property Advisory director Jarrod McCabe believes looser bank lending and lower interest rates will see prices rise even higher in the coming months. He is predicting properties to be worth more at the end of this year than they were at the beginning, despite values falling for the first six months. Read more…