THE property wars are heating up and commentators are taking to Twitter to assert their views. The contention is around the different measures of house prices and whether or not the housing market has bottomed but the good news is that now may be the perfect time for the property investor.
CommSec economist Craig James is of the view that the worst may be over and we might start to see some slow growth in property markets.
Data out on Wednesday from the Australian Bureau of Statistics was broadly in line with RP Data numbers out earlier in the week. The weighted average of prices in the eight capital cities rose 0.5 per cent over the quarter but remained down by 2.1 per cent over the year.
Better numbers from RP Data
James says that in terms of comprehensiveness and scope of data, as an economist he believes RP Data is superior to the ABS.
“RP Data and Rismark have got data on almost every single property transaction in Australia,” he says.
“And if somebody is going to know what’s happening in terms of property prices its going to be them.”
The ABS, James says, covers houses, rather than the total market.
Affordability
Prices may now be more affordable than they have been in a decade. The median average dwelling price for the aggregate of the eight capital cities was $460,000, RP Data states, and the range was from $300,000, in Perth, right up to $535,000 in Sydney.
“Property prices have bottomed. You’ve had two interest rate cuts, you’ve now got the best housing affordability in a decade,” he says.
If you’re looking to buy an investment property, now may be as good a time as any, as yields are improving in some areas.
“I think we are going to see growth in house prices. The RP Data figures show its still quite attractive, the property returns are still pretty good.”
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