Why house prices are skyrocketing (and what we can do to fix it)

Grattan Institute

Chances are, if you’re on the market for a new property, or are trying to sell, you might have noticed how bonkers the Australian property market is right now. Queues of thirty people at open inspections isn’t unheard of in metropolitan areas, and prices are skyrocketing due to demand. It’s an unexpected outcome - the start of the COVID pandemic saw predictions that house prices would fall 10-to-20 per cent. One year on and Australian house prices are now surging at their fastest rate since 2003. After all the talk of crashing house prices a year ago, it’s enough to give would-be homebuyers whiplash. Listen to Kat Clay, Head of Digital Communications, and Brendan Coates, Household Finances Program Director, tackle the very real problem of housing affordability.