Housing values "may have found a floor"

The national dwelling prices “may have found a floor” in July, with values stabilising after a consistent monthly decline through the first half of 2019, according to CoreLogic head of research Tim Lawless.

The housing values in combined capital cities rose 0.1% in July, but prices in regional markets remained flat, CoreLogic’s Hedonic Home Value Index showed.

Brisbane, Darwin, Hobart, Melbourne, and Sydney recorded subtle price growth. The values in Hobart and Darwin also rose by 0.3% and 0.4%, respectively, while all the east coast capitals recorded 0.2% growth, according to the data.

The price growth in Brisbane and Sydney greatly contributed to the market turnaround, according to Lawless.

“The primary drivers for the turnaround in housing market performance were Australia’s two largest cities, Sydney and Melbourne, where values have ticked higher over the past two months, taking values 0.3% off their floor in Sydney and 0.4% higher in Melbourne,” Lawless said.

Lower mortgage rates, improved access to credit, an increased housing market confidence post-election, and recent tax cuts likely support the improvement in housing conditions, according to Lawless.

However, buyers should not expect prices to “go off the race” again, according to AMP chief economist Shane Oliver.

“There’s a bunch of positive factors supporting the property market, but I don’t think prices are going to run away because lending standards are a lot tighter this time around,” Oliver told Business Insider Australia.

There will be a six-month period till the end of 2019 when prices will bottom out before modest gains come in through 2020, Oliver said.