Property experts and market watchers surveyed by the National Australia Bank (NAB) have become more optimistic about house price growth over the rest of 2019 and through 2020.
NAB's Residential Property Index moved back into positive territory for the first time since mid-2018, rising 26 points in the September quarter to an above-average +18. Improved housing market sentiments were reported for all states except Western Australia, said NAB chief economist Alan Oster.
"The results suggest the Australian housing market is on the way to recovery," he said.
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The expectations for national house prices for the next 12 months were also optimistic, particularly in Victoria and New South Wales.
"This marks a sharp reversal from the previous survey where Victoria and NSW were expected to be the weakest states for price growth and the only states where prices were tipped to fall," Oster said.
He projects prices to rise by the end of 2019, with Sydney and Melbourne reporting gains of 1.8% and 0.7%, respectively.
"We expect moderate growth across the capital cities of 4.5% in 2020," Oster said.
While the low interest-rate environment and the loosening serviceability rules will help boost investor participation, access to credit was still a cause of concern for some property experts.
"That said, tight credit was again called out as the single biggest constraint on new housing development, and access to credit the biggest impediment for buyers of existing property across the country," Oster said.
