Property prices in Australia surge to record highs despite recession
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Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia. Unusually, prices in Australia’s regional areas are rising far more quickly than in major cities such as Sydney and Melbourne.
PHOTO: REUTERS
SYDNEY - Australians discovered this week that not even a pandemic or the country's first recession in almost 30 years can put a dent in the surging housing market, as new figures showed that property prices have reached record highs.
Despite initial warnings from analysts that the Covid-19 outbreak could cause prices to drop by as much as 30 per cent, the average dwelling is now worth more than before the pandemic. According to property data firm CoreLogic, average prices increased 0.9 per cent last month and have exceeded their peak in 2017, after which tighter lending controls led to a price dip.