Mortgage Business Sydney housing sentiment holds up in lockdown By Malavika Santhebennur 28 July 2021 Consumer sentiment around Sydney housing dipped only marginally, hinting at a disconnect between concerns about lockdown and attitudes towards housing, according to Westpac. The Westpac-Melbourne Institute Index for July 2021 has revealed that the “time to buy a dwelling” index increased from 96.1 in June 2021 to 96.9 in July 2021. This has reversed recent trends where the index had declined for five consecutive months and had shown significant signs of stress and was in pessimistic territory for the first time since April 2020. Despite the slight monthly uptick, the index has remained significantly lower (26.5 per cent) from its peak in November, reflecting concerns about the impact of steep house price rises on affordability, particularly among prospective first home buyers (FHB) and owner-occupiers.