House prices to moderate
The outlook for house prices over the next one to two years has pared back in all states, says a residential property index.

The NAB Residential Property Index has fallen -7 points to +12 in Q4 2014 as house price expectations pared back and rents weakened.
The index said the sentiment is softer in all states and still deeply negative in Western Australia.
NAB chief economist Alan Oster said NSW overtook Queensland as the strongest state in Q4, but Queensland and Victoria were the most optimistic looking forward, with WA the least optimistic, by some margin.
For the first time, NAB said their Quarterly Australian Residential Property Survey also distinguished between first home buyers purchasing for owner occupation and investment purposes.
“The results indicate that first home buyers purchasing for investment purposes accounted for almost eight per cent of total new property demand and just over nine per cent in existing property markets," Mr Oster said.
"This suggests that affordability constraints or potential capital gains are encouraging some first home buyers to delay moving in to their first homes."
NAB expects house prices to moderate because of rising unemployment, sluggish household income growth, affordability concerns, cost of living pressures and high levels of household debt.
However, they said two further interest rates cuts this year should help support house prices a little more than previously expected.
“We are forecasting average house price growth of around four per cent over the year to end-2015 and two per cent over the year to end-2016”, said Mr Oster.
- <p>Its been a bubble for over a decade so expect alot of calls for the pop. Government and RBA have run out of cushions now. Mining boom turn bust is a significant needle, as is the death of car manufacturing. Too many things going wrong at the same time. The crash has already begun in WA and Darwin.</p>0
- <p>This is the year it starts. Last LNG projects wrap up construction and we'll see the start of the pop (and our next recession)</p>0
- <p>I agree with @Rachael. It has already started in the mining areas and will spread across the country as unemployment rises. Lower interest rates will prolong the agony for a while, but it is coming.</p>0
- <p>That's like Prof. Steve Keen. 7 years ago he predicted a crash. If you keep predicting a crash EVERY year, sooner or later you might be right.</p>0
- <p>I am forecasting a crash.</p>0
- <p>Who are these experts ??? They said price expectations last year were around 2 per cent. Was it? I thought we had some states recording 8, 10 and even 12 per cent in<br>several areas!</p>0