Wednesday, 2 November 2011

Australia's House Prices Fall for the Third Straight Quarter

Property prices in Australia have fallen for three straight quarters due to increased borrowing costs, but there are signs this decline could be bottoming out as September marked the smallest price decline in seven months. Homes in capital cities fell by just 0.2% while regional home values increased by 0.1%, and experts think the trend of downward prices may be reversing.

House prices in capital cities have decreased by 4.2% this year while apartment prices have fallen by 1.4%, with Brisbane proving to be the worst performer so far this year, although all the signs are that it could be the first to see prices recover as home values increased by 0.4% in September.

Adelaide did even better with prices up by 0.5%, while more resilient markets such as the Sydney and Canberra saw the largest price declines with prices down by 0.6% and 0.5% respectively.

Economists are also hopeful that interest rates will be gradually reduced which could help to revive the first-time buyers' market, although most are predicting a recovery will come by the middle of next year. Another hopeful sign for the housing market is the fact that auction clearance rates are stable and there are less signs of discounting. Financing is also becoming easier.

The decline in house prices in Australia is certainly good news for all the Brits wanting to move to the country, as apparently the Overseas Guides Company has seen a 160% increase in the last quarter. Australia is seen as being particularly attractive as there is a skills shortage so certain professionals will find getting visas to live and work a relatively straightforward process.

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