This has been a contentious issue over the years among both researchers and economists – but data from Australian Property Monitors and RP Data’s Rismark has reignited this in the last few days.
An Australian Property Monitors’ Quarterly Housing report revealed, “2009 ended with the strongest annual house price growth since 2003,” which supports the view that residential property is unaffordable. APM also revealed over the December quarter the Australian property market saw a 4.8 per cent rise in median house prices nationally and 12.1 per cent rise overall for the year.
RP Data with its partner Rismark will release data tomorrow which paints a slightly different picture – one far more conservative. RP Data’s National Research Director, Tim lawless, announced that APM’s data was “unexpectedly high and likely to reflect a change in the types of properties that are transacting rather than true capital growth.”
“A resurgence of interest in higher-priced properties combined with the fall back of first home buyers is likely to have played a role in inflating the latest growth figures.”
According to Christoper Joye, managing director of Rismark, “There is an uninformed perception that houses are much more expensive now, compared to our household incomes, than they ever have been before.”
Rismark has reported strong growth in the first quarter of 2009. Joye, says “in the first quarter of 2009, the median price index providers got it very wrong, claiming that house prices were falling when in fact they were rising rapidly.”
He adds, “The medians were being dragged down by a surge in first-time buyers purchasing cheap homes.”
Tags: affordability, Budget, First Home Buyers, Home Loans, Invest, Move House, Property
I totally agree. That is exactly how I understand it. Great!