Property market to slow rather than crash in Sydney and Melbourne

A recent newspaper report notes that both NAB and Westpac have indicated that while there will be some downturn in the property market. Both Sydney and Melbourne will continue to see high single digit growth rates due to strong demand and limited supply.

In a statement to the Sydney Morning Herald, NAB CEO, Andrew Thorburn and Westpac CEO, Brian Hartzer said that while there have been strong growth in capital cities, there were some areas including Perth, Adelaide and Brisbane where growth has not been that strong.  They also noted that there had been no substantial growth in regional areas.

Westpac’s CEO indicated that low interest rates meant that ‘mortgage delinquencies’ have also declined due to low interest rates.  He also noted that the biggest risk to mortgage defaults was any rise in unemployment levels.

Westpac subsequently announced that it would raise owner-occupier interest rates to 5.86% from November 20, 2015.

See the article here.