House price falls prompting Australians to sit on their lands: NAB survey

Consumers and property professionals' expectations of further falls in house prices are leaving them anxious, with a new survey finding more Australians are opting to renovate rather than sell their homes over the coming year. Key points: Australian consumers do not think it is a good time to sell their home or investment property and expect house prices to fall a further 2.1 per cent nationally NAB forecasts house prices will drop a further 5.6 per cent in Sydney and 7 per cent in Melbourne over the coming year After Hong Kong and Vancouver, Sydney and Melbourne are the least affordable housing markets worldwide An NAB survey of 2,000 Australian consumers found most do not think it is a good time to sell their home or investment property. NAB's latest Residential Property Survey of more than 300 property professionals in the fourth quarter of 2018 found they are expecting a 2.4 per cent decline in house prices over the coming year. NAB HOUSE PRICE FORECAST 2017 2018 2019 2020 Sydney 3.4 -10 -5.6 -0.4 Melbourne 11.3 -9.1 -7 -2.2 Brisbane 2.5 0.4 0 0 Adelaide 3.2 1.3 1.7 1.7 Perth -1.2 -4.3 -0.2 0 Hobart 11.4 8.3 1.8 1.8 Average Capital City 4.8 -6.7 -3.8 -0.6 This means that, with the falls experienced last year, the market will have hit peak-to-trough declines of about 15 per cent in Melbourne and Sydney. TEN LEAST AFFORDABLE HOUSING MARKETS *Median Multiple Hong Kong 20.9 Vancouver 12.6 Sydney 11.7 Melbourne 9.7 San Jose 9.4 Los Angeles 9.2 Auckland 9.0 San Francisco 8.8 Honolulu 8.6 London 8.3 Source: 15th Annual Demographia International Housing Affordability Survey *Median multiple is the average house price divided by average household income The report rates housing affordability using the "median multiple" of the average house price divided by average household income.