Sydney House Prices To Climb 21%

NAB has adjusted its growth forecast for Sydney housing prices by a substantial 7% to 21.6% this year – following the record-breaking results seen in the first half of 2021.

The bank has also readjusted its 2022 prediction, halving gains.

Away from the NSW capital, the bank also upgraded its expectations in other capitals – Melbourne now forecast to grow by 17.6%, up from NAB’s April prediction of 16.2%.

Elsewhre, Brisbane is expected to see 19.5%, Adelaide 17.4%, Perth 11.6% and Hobart 23.5% respectively.

NAB expects 2022 to slow significantly, expecting house prices to grow by 3.1% in Sydney, 3.5% in Melbourne, 4.4% in Brisbane, 3.4% in Adelaide, 3.9% in Perth and 4.3% in Hobart.

This comes as the bank adjusts its April figures which suggested 2022 would see Sydney house prices rise by 6%, Melbourne 5.5%, Brisbane 6.2%, Adelaide 6%, Perth 5.6% and Hobart by 6.1%.

The combined capitals are predicted to see home prices jump 18.5% in 2021 and 3.6% next year, bringing questions of housing affordability spurred on by record low interest rates into discourse.

More than 280 modern and contemporary artworks will be up for sale Friday at Christie’s Post-War to Present auction in New York.

The live sale, which will be held at Christie’s Rockefeller Center sale room, has a low estimate of more than US$27 million and will be led by Frank Stella’s Abra I, 1968, which is estimated to fetch between US$1.2 million and US$1.8 million, according to a news release from Christie’s.

“Abra I is a fantastic example by Stella, a large-scale canvas from the protractor series,” says head of sale Julian Ehrlich. “It engages so many crucial aspects of his practice, including scale, geometry and colour, and has appeal to established post-war collectors and others who are just coming to historical art.”

Ehrlich, who has overseen the semiannual Post-War to Present sale since its first March 2022 auction, says his goal in curating the sale was to “assemble a thoughtful and dynamic auction” with works from both popular and lesser-known artists.

“With Post-War to Present, we really have a unique opportunity to share new artistic narratives at auction. It’s a joy to highlight new artists or artists who have been overlooked historically and be a part of that conversation in a larger art world context,” he says.

Joe Overstreet’s ‘Untitled’, 1970
Christie’s

Works from a number of female artists who were pioneers of post-war abstract painting, including Helen Frankenthaler, Lynne Drexler, and Hedda Sterne, will be included. The auction will also include pieces from a group of Black artists from the 1960s to present day, including Noah Purifoy, Jack Whitten, and David Hammons, in addition to a Christie’s debut from Joe Overstreet (Untitled, 1970) and an auction debut from Rick Lowe (Untitled, 2021).

“The story of art is necessarily diverse,” Ehrlich says. “The sale itself is broad, with more than 280 works this season, and it has been fun to think through artists inside and outside of the canon that we can put forward as highlights of the auction.”

In addition to Abra I, other top lots include Tom Wesselmann’s Seascape #29, 1967, (with an estimate between US$800,000 and US$1.2 million); Keith Haring’s Andy Mouse, 1986, (also with an estimate between US$800,000 and US$1.2 million); and Jack Whitten’s Garden in Bessemer, 1986 (with an estimate between US$700,000 andUS$1 million).

“I think of the Post-War to Present sale as being especially dynamic … in the best case, even for someone deeply embedded in the market, there should be works which surprise and delight and are unexpected, as well as celebrated market-darlings and art-historical greats,” Ehrlich says.

Sydney House Prices To Climb 21%

The latest predictions from NAB forecast a significant lift.