NAB’s property forecasts: what they mean for you and your clients

We break down NAB’s most recent residential property survey for brokers and buyers

NAB’s property forecasts: what they mean for you and your clients
We break down NAB’s most recent residential property survey for brokers and buyers 

NAB has just published their Residential Property Survey for the fourth quarter of 2018. Since 2011 NAB has consulted property experts including real estate agents, property developers and investors to predict what will happen to the housing market. 

Brokers

Good news: buyers need you. According to NAB “access to credit was identified as the main impediment to buying existing property in SA/NT, NSW and QLD.” Prospects also look bright for commercial brokers as property experts identified tight credit as the main constraint on new home building, for the seventh consecutive quarter.

Investors

NAB predicts a bleak few years for investors, noting that “While some prudential measures potentially have their greatest (dampening) impact on the market early on, before losing their potency over time, we may see a more lingering impact this time around, especially in Sydney.” The bank warns that the impact of interest-only borrowers moving to principal and interest loans is not yet apparent. 

Upgraders

Owner occupiers – excluding first home buyers – fell slightly from 32.8% to 30.7% of total sales in Q4. However, property experts expect the proportion of new residential buyers to increase over the next 12 months. Owner occupiers with low LVRs are being targeted for discounts by the banks

Sydneysiders

Bad news Sydney property owners; after paying the highest prices in the nation to get on the property ladder, you can now expect the value of your home to fall. NAB predicts a decline of 2.4% in 2018 and 1.2% in 2019. If that wasn’t bad enough, every other capital city in Australia is set for growth, particularly Melbourne (3.7% in 2018).

Foreign buyers

The number of foreign buyers is now at a six-year low in new property markets and a five year low in established markets. For all the fears of foreign buyers scooping up off the plan apartments, fewer than one in 10 new properties were bought by a foreign buyer in the fourth quarter of 2017.

Rentvestors

First home buyers who choose to rent out their first property, labelled ‘rentvestors’, have been impacted by restrictions on investor lending, NAB suggests. The share of sales going to rentvestors fell from 13.7% in Q3 2017 down to 9.9% in Q4. According to NAB, “this may also suggest more FHBs are preferring to buy homes to live in as price growth slows.”

Queenslanders

With expected house price growth of 1.8% over the next 12 months, the Sunshine State could beat both Melbourne (1.6%) and Sydney (-0.5%) when it comes to expected returns. Over the next two years, prices are expected to rise by 2.4%. 
 
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