The Property Market and COVID-19

The only certainty for property during the COVID-19 pandemic is that property prices will go down, at least in the short term. For how long, no-body really knows.

The RBA has talked about a rebound in the second half of this year. Nigel Stapledon, a research fellow in real estate at the Centre for Applied Economic Research at the University of New South Wales expects it to rebound by at least by 2021. Either way, it’s important to remember the rebound will happen. And while it’s rebounding, have a look at what your property is yielding, because chances are the return is better than what you would get in the bank.

The government, RBA and banks are all implementing strategies to protect both home owners and renters during this time to lessen the financial impact as much as possible.

The RBA has already cut interest rates and the major banks have moved to offer mortgage reprieve to eligible home owners, which is helping to calm buyers.

‘’The move from the banks should help to ease what is likely to be a growing sense of anxiety from borrowers at risk of defaulting as economic conditions weaken,’’ according to Tim Lawless, research director at CoreLogic.

On Friday NAB said it would freeze mortgage repayments for its home loan customers who are suffering financial difficulty for as long as 6 months. Westpac and ANZ have followed suit with similar offers to their clients.

Scott Morrison has announced that the states are working on a way to provide relief for both commercial and residential tenants.

All in all, there are some positives in this unprecedented time for the property market. All parties are doing their best to protect Australians from financial difficulty and according to experts, the downturn is predicted to be shortlived. So, if you can hold, hold and if you have cash, it’s potentially a good time to invest.

 

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