A major bank has halved its property price growth forecast for next year and is now bracing for prices to fall in Australia s biggest cities as lending rules are tightened.
As recently as February, Westpac predicted prices in Australian capital cities would surge by 10 per cent in 2021 followed by a 10 per cent increase next year.
But on Tuesday, Australia s second biggest bank revised its forecast to have prices grow 15 per cent this year, before slowing to just 5 per cent in 2022 as the banking regulator tightened rules on investor loans.
Sydney, Melbourne, and Hobart were expected to grow at a 5 per cent pace next year, before prices in 2023 fell by 1 per cent in both the NSW and Victorian capitals.
MacroBusiness
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at 9:40 am on April 21, 2021 | 19 comments
In Australia, it just doesn’t do to tell the truth about our ruling classes. Take, for instance, Wayne Byers, chairman of the Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority. As the Hayne Royal Commission exposed banking disgrace after crime in 2019, it became abundantly clear that APRA had completely failed under Byers over the previous cycle.
Yet what happened? Why! He was reappointed in the middle of the HRC, immediately before Justice Hayne turned to condemn APRA ‘s failings. Byers should have been sacked or resigned, as some within the Australian parliament demanded.
10:39 AM
Bank of Queensland is expected to exceed guidance and looks well positioned to deal with industry headwinds
-All three housing lending channels posted positive growth
-Strong pre-provision profit growth of 3% half-on-half
-Reduced impairments forecast
By Mark Story
Broadly in line with guidance, Bank of Queensland ((BOQ)) managed to deliver an improved first half 2021 result, underpinned by improving economic conditions deposit margin benefits and low impairment charges. While there were few surprises within the heavily pre-guided result, a key positive for this set of results is the housing credit growth in the bank s Blue Brand for the first time since first-half 2016.
Australians should consider putting their money in their superannuation instead of property as fund balances are now growing faster than house prices.
Analysis by Chant West showed median growth-orientated retirement balances surged by 12.2 per cent since July 1 - something unthinkable only a year ago.
The double-digit growth in just nine months, to the end of March 2021, was even stronger than the 7.7 per cent surge in Sydney s median house price during the past year.
Australia s share market was this week close to reaching a record high, with the benchmark S&P/ASX200 just 1.5 per cent below the all-time peak of 7,197 set in February 2020 shortly before the Covid shutdowns.