HSBC: Australia’s Home Price Decline Is Far From Over

Australia’s home prices pulled back in June, but the downturn is only beginning, HSBC’s chief economist Paul Bloxham said. According to Jin10, Bloxham said major recent changes to tax policies for investment properties, along with the Reserve Bank of Australia’s three earlier interest-rate hikes, have quickly weakened investor demand in the housing market. Bloxham forecast that from now through the end of next year, national home prices in Australia will fall by as much as 8%. He added that the pace of declines shown in the June data suggested risks to that forecast were tilted to the downside. “Buckle up,” Bloxham said.