A number of experts are forecasting Sydney’s house price decline to continue for the remainder of 2026, yet one economist says the numbers could still finish in the black.
Figures from PropTrack’s latest Home Price Index revealed Sydney was one of two states nationwide that led a house decline dropping by an average of 0.5 per cent over June.
Amid the current downturn, My Housing Market chief economist Dr Andrew Wilson said home values could still finish the year in positive territory, rising by up to 3 per cent year-on-year.
This prediction flies in the face of other forecasts from banks which have tipped price declines in the range of 5-8 per cent across the calendar year.
Dr Wilson said there was still a case for price rises because of steady demand for housing due to migration, sluggish housing construction and rising rents.
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“I think that Sydney will struggle to finish the year in the black, but I still think it’s on the balance of probabilities that it will again record price growth this year,” he said. “I think it would be between 0 and 3 per cent.”
Dr Wilson said after three years of strong growth, this year has been weaker, exacerbated by three consecutive interest rate increases.
He added Sydney is now moving into the winter market, which is typically the quieter period of the year with fewer buyers and sellers.
“We have a number of factors that are really pushing buyers and sellers to sit on their hands,” he said. “Sydney and Melbourne have been the underperformers this year to date.
“The government introduced some quite notable revisions to taxation for property, and that’s been part of the story that’s added to that negativity in the market, particularly from investors.”
According to Dr Wilson, regardless of these factors there is an already strong economy, reasonably high migration levels and a tight rental market that could be working in Sydney’s house value favour.
He added any price growth will be determined by circumstances of the economy, interest rates, supply in the market and the usual uplift expected from the spring selling season.
“We know that there’s the potential given a better inflation result to have lower interest rates and the other point is that our economy is still performing quite solidly,” he said.
“So the science is positive.
“I’m still optimistic — that the positives are still outweighing the negatives but we just need to wait and see what comes out of left field and as we know the last couple of years, certainly the last two years, plenty can happen that we can’t predict.”
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Originally published as Why this economist believes Sydney prices could end on a rise
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