The top 7 ways COVID changed the Australian property market
The closed borders and construction delays were just some of the pandemic-induced effects on the local property market
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CoreLogic research director Tim Lawless has revealed seven ways in which COVID changed Australian housing market trends.
“It was four years ago when the World Health Organisation declared COVID-19 a worldwide pandemic,” Mr Lawless said. “Since that time economic trends, including housing metrics, have been on a rollercoaster ride. Although lockdowns and the uncertainty of vaccination programs are well behind us, the legacy of COVID will be with us for a long time yet.”
1. Surging home values
Australia’s home price median surged 32.5% between March 2020 and February 2024, providing an incredible uplift of approximately $188,000 for homeowners in just four years. Housing values initially dipped when COVID hit but then surged 30.8% higher to a cyclical peak in April 2022. The market slumped 7.5% as interest rates rose, but as supply dried up and migration spiked, housing values entered a new growth cycle in February 2023 and have since risen 9.5% to date.
Mr Lawless said house values have increased by 37.9% while unit values have risen 16.5%, reflecting buyers’ preference for more space during COVID, and the ability to work from home allowing them to move to city outskirts or regional areas where they could afford a house. This led to regional home prices rising faster than capital city values. Today, regional prices are up a collective 47.6% compared with a 28.5% rise in capital city prices.
2. Rising rents
Mr Lawless said rental markets have tightened substantially, with vacancy rates holding around 1% and weekly rents surging. Nationally, rents have jumped 32.4% since March 2020, adding approximately $150 per week to the median weekly rent.
3. Interest rates
Mr Lawless said emergency low interest rates stimulated demand but in May 2022, when the Reserve Bank began increasing rates to fight inflation, market activity was quickly quelled.“So far borrowers have navigated higher mortgage rates much better than expected with mortgage arrears holding below pre-pandemic levels,” Mr Lawless commented.
4. Inflation
Mr Lawless said unprecedented peacetime fiscal stimulus, low interest rates and stronger global demand once COVID restrictions were lifted created higher inflation. This was exacerbated further by global supply chain disruptions due to the war in Ukraine. “Inflation is now beating forecasts, fuelling speculation we could see rate cuts later this year,” he said.
5. Low unemployment
Strong employment is seen as a crucial factor in keeping the property market stable. Once lockdowns ended and social distancing measures were eased, the jobs market tightened significantly. “Although labour markets are now loosening, RBA forecasts have the unemployment rate holding below 4.5% through to at least mid-2026,” Mr Lawless said.
6. Demographic trends
One factor keeping housing demand strong throughout the pandemic, despite closed borders, was the average household size shrinking as more people bought or rented houses, Mr Lawless explained. Since international borders reopened, record high overseas migration led by students has added massive new demand, particularly in the rental market.
7. Low supply
Low supply of homes for sale and fewer homes being built during COVID resulted in the unusual situation of housing values increasing at the same time as interest rates.
“Dwelling completions have held relatively flat through the pandemic to date, with supply chain constraints, materials and labour shortages, and a surge in construction costs creating a challenging environment for delivering new housing supply,” Mr Lawless said.
BNW Developments has established a Sydney presence, joining Arada and Sobha Realty among the growing number of UAE developers pursuing Australian buyers and development opportunities.
Australian shares fell on Thursday as Wall Street weakness, rising oil and persistent rate concerns weighed on most of the market. The S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.72 per cent to 8,702. The All Ordinaries lost 0.66 per cent to finish at 8,897. Mining stocks were hit particularly hard, while real estate also dragged on the index. …
Continue reading “ASX falls 0.7 per cent as miners and property stocks retreat”
A vibrant 1954 Palm Springs home featuring eight colorful murals by late artist Shawn Savage is on the market for $2.295 million. The 2,237-square-foot property features bold hot-pink doors, three bedrooms, a pool, mountain views and playful interiors blending modern glamour with classic Palm Springs style.
3 min
A bold 1950s home in Palm Springs, California, adorned with eight colorful murals by the late artist Shawn Savage, is coming to market ahead of the city’s annual Modernism Week.
The white stucco home on El Camino Way, built in 1954 and recently renovated, has an asking price of $2.295 million. Its staggered facade features three playfully abstract murals on either side of double-height hot pink doors.
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The sellers are Los Angeles-based partners John Freeman and Mathieu Faure, who knew it was “the one” when they saw it after several months of searching in the winter of 2023. “It’s a happy house,” Freeman said. “We really liked the feel of the house: the uniqueness, the openness, the brightness—and the art.”
Located in the Mesa neighborhood of Palm Springs, which backs up to the San Jacinto Mountains, the 2,237-square-foot house features three bedrooms, an angled bonus room and a yard with a pool, desert mountain views and another colorful mural running alongside the pool.
“I never thought in my life I would have a house with pink doors,” said Faure, a producer at Apple TV who is originally from Paris. “It’s so colorful, it’s so different. And so Palm Springs.”
The layout of the home creates a smooth flow from the front doors through the open-plan common area—a foyer, bar, and living and dining room—into the kitchen around a fireplace wall and out to the yard. A corridor leads to a private bedroom wing, where the primary suite has floor-to-ceiling windows and the primary bath is only a tad smaller than the bedroom.
Faure has filled the home with Jonathan Adler furniture, rugs and accessories, riffing on the energetic California vibes of the house to create an aesthetic of “modern American glamour,” he said.
“It was enjoyable for me to play with different types of furniture and make this house ‘happy chic,’ as I describe it,” he said.
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“He did a fantastic job,” said Freeman, who is an attorney and consultant. “It does kind of bring a smile to my face whenever I walk into the house.”
Since the furniture and decor were chosen for the particularities of the space, the couple is open to selling them with the home. Their West Hollywood house is already furnished; the collection doesn’t match the vibes of a Houston loft they bought near family; and Faure can’t imagine these pieces in New York—where he’s lived in the past—he said.
The duo bought the Palm Springs house for $1.925 million in 2024, according to property records, and will list the home Monday. They are represented by Stewart Smith, Patrick Jordan and Kevin Stanley of Bennion Deville Homes/Luxury Portfolio International.
The previous owners had purchased the home in 2021 for $975,000 and then spent more than two years and $700,000 on the renovation, according to Realtor.com. They commissioned Savage, a local Palm Springs artist and painter known for his joyful abstract work, to decorate the home.
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Savage, who died in 2024, lived in the Coachella Valley from 2003, and his work can be found in various local institutions and is on exhibit at the Illumine Gallery in Palm Springs. “Some artists pass through a place. Shawn Savage became a part of it,” the gallery’s description states.
Unsurprisingly, the murals invite lots of friendly conversations, as well as guided tours and interested lookers, but never to a degree that it disturbed the peacefulness of their home or the neighborhood, the sellers said. “It felt like living in an art gallery, and you have the exterior that you would share with the world,” Faure explained.
The neighborhood also played a role in their decision to buy, because of its access to the hiking trails of the San Jacinto Mountains, the lack of through-roads and the neighborly environment.
“It’s a very friendly place,” Faure said.
Rising rates, construction inflation and shrinking investor confidence are pushing Australia deeper into a dangerous housing spiral that monetary policy alone cannot fix.
From elevated skincare to handcrafted home pieces, this year’s most thoughtful gifts go beyond the expected.
