Alan Kohler says perhaps there's a Sydney housing bubble

Alan Kohler says perhaps there's a Sydney housing bubble
Jonathan ChancellorAugust 22, 2016

There was definitely no risk of a national housing bubble, Alan Kohler, the Australian columnist and publisher of The Constant Investor, has suggested in his latest column.

Is there one in Sydney?

"Perhaps," he wrote in The Australian.

"Sydney just happens to be where people want to live and invest and, at the moment, there’s a lack of supply. 

"Maybe there’ll be a crash if supply catches up and interest rates rise.

"Big ifs," he suggested.

He noted the surge in Sydney’s auction clearance rate over the weekend to 86.4 per cent should lay to rest the myth that the housing market has stopped responding to lower interest rates and, secondly, that government decentralisation policies are worthwhile.

The weekend's preliminary clearance rate in Sydney was 10 percentage points higher than a year ago, and also 10 percentage points higher than the next highest result the 76 percent in Melbourne.

 

Jonathan Chancellor

Jonathan Chancellor is one of Australia's most respected property journalists, having been at the top of the game since the early 1980s. Jonathan co-founded the property industry website Property Observer and has written for national and international publications.

Editor's Picks

City Beat January 2025: Sydney property market cooldown slows as new apartment pipeline ramps up
26 Vista Street, Surfers Paradise apartment development, hits 70 per cent sold
Latent Defects Insurance 101: What is the Technical Inspection Service (TIS) Program
City Beat January 2025: Gold Coast property values continue to grow as off the plan enquiries hit near 12-month high
Live parkside in Melbourne for under $500,000