But it’s clearly not just us saying it, as we noticed Alan Oster, the Chief Economist at NAB, also pointing to the market imbalance when updating the NAB’s forecasts for the property market recently. Mr Oster mentioned the ongoing shortage of available property listings as a key influence on property prices, noting that property prices "continue to be supported by a significant supply-demand imbalance", despite rising interest rates and the resultant reduction in borrowing power for many buyers.

If you missed the NAB’s latest revision of their near-term forecasts for metropolitan housing prices across Australia, they raised their prediction for prices in 2023, tipping a rise of 8 per cent. Clearly, that’s a substantial increase on their previous forecast of 4.7 per cent growth this year.

Looking further ahead, the NAB also tipped a further rise of 5 per cent in 2024, taking their expectations to a combined growth of 13 per cent over the two year period. What is really interesting is that this forecast was updated despite the decision by the Reserve Bank to raise official interest rates again this week.

You may be wondering what this update means for the property market in our part of Melbourne? Well, firstly the signs of growing confidence among the Banks is good news for anyone wanting to take out a mortgage. After all, they are more likely to lend on security that they believe is going up in value than they are on something they think might be flatlining.

Secondly, if you are thinking of making your own move in the market, a continuation of the imbalance between strong buyer demand and a shortage in the supply of new listings is good news for sellers, so don’t delay your decision to sell.

Remember, if you need any advice or assistance in the current market, the team at Barry Plant Gladstone Park is always ready and able to help, so feel free to give us a call this week on 9330 1088.

Cheers,

Bill Karp - Director

Barry Plant Real Estate

Gladstone Park