Australian Housing Market Set To Rebound In 2013, Shows SQM Research

The Australian housing market is starting 2013 on a positive note, with the residential property listed for sale going down by 1.9% in January from the previous month, a report by SQM Research revealed.

The SQM Research, which gauges nationwide housing market trends, adds to a string of recent data touting a long-awaited recovery in the residential property market after years of low activity, weak construction and price falls.

Capital-city house prices rose by 1.2% month-on-month in January 2013, adding 1.8% in annual comparison, according to research by RP Data-Rismark. New home sales shot up by 6.6% in December 2012, according to a recently published survey by the Housing Industry Association.

There are a number of signs that a housing market recovery is now underway, SQM said in its report.

The research suggested that the deep interest-rate cuts made by the Reserve Bank of Australia in 2012 are finally pushing back to life non-mining sectors of the Australian economy.

Official stats recently showed that the number of housing permits dropped by 4.4% in December 2012 from the preceding month but analysts see this fall as having a short-term effect and is unlikely to change the market recovery direction.