House Prices set to rise

Australian Property News

Posted on Friday, January 22 2010 at 6:00 PM

Australians expect house prices to rise over the next 12 months, according to January's Westpac-Melbourne Institute Consumer Sentiment Survey.

Of the 84 per cent of respondents who predicted this rise, 21 per cent expected gains above 10 per cent.

Across all respondents, the average expected price rise was 5.4 per cent over the next year, 1.5 per cent higher than the average expected rise in October's survey.

Across the states, Victorian respondents predicted the highest price rises, of which 87 per cent expected house prices to rise over 2010, and 29 per cent of these respondents expected gains of above 10 per cent.

Of the age groups represented in the survey, 18 to 24-year-olds were the most optimistic and expected the greatest increase, followed by the investor and first homebuyer age groups.

The only sub-group to predict a decline in house prices were the respondents earning $71,000 to $90,000 per annum.

The survey also reported a decline in positive responses to the question: "Is now a good time to buy a dwelling?" which suggested that affordability had become an increasing issue for buyers.