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Capital city apartment values to be hit the hardest, experts predict

The latest Finder RBA Cash Rate Survey is out, and it’s not the best news for apartment owners.

43 experts and economists were asked to predict various aspects of the housing markets, including the projected values of apartments and houses in the eight capital cities.

They predict price drops of between 7-8% price drops by the end of September for Sydney and Melbourne apartments, against under 5% for houses.

Brisbane apartments are predicted to drop 6.1%, against a projection 3.2% fall in house prices.

The only good news is for house-owners in Canberra, the only capital city real estate predicted to rise in value.

In addition, only 35% of the experts believe that now is a wise time to buy property, with clearance rates for auctions in Sydney and Melbourne having fallen from 77% pre-COVID to their current 63% and 61%, respectively.

“Increasingly, auctions are topping-out at final bids well below reserve,” says Graham Cooke, insights manager at Finder.

“With more job uncertainty on the horizon, it’s difficult to see any improvement in the near future.”

Cooke was disheartened by a recent report that suggested that 10% of those who purchased off-the-plan apartments have chosen to default on their loans.

“This is the most shocking report I have seen since the onset of COVID-19. It is a huge decision to default, as it means losing your deposit.

“There are two main things that would put a buyer in this position: either they’ve lost their job and can no longer afford the loan, or the property has dropped in value so far that the banks are not willing to issue funds.

“Both are terrible positions to be in, and paint a truly dreary picture for our economic future as it’s only likely to get worse from here.”

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Nathan Jolly

Nathan Jolly was an in-house journalist with Elite Agent. He worked with the company from July 2020 to December 2020.