Expert slams popular belief a price crash would fix housing affordability crisis

The Housing Industry Association found the lowest levels of affordability since 1994. Real estate industry pundit and auctioneer Tom Panos has warned Australia’s falling home prices shouldn’t be viewed as a good thing, claiming they won’t make housing more affordable and could damage the economy. Mr Panos recently took to social media in a now viral video, pointing out that a 20 per cent fall in property values could wipe as much $2.6 trillion from Australian household balance sheets. He noted that Australians hold 57 per cent of their total wealth in property. Australia’s residential housing market is currently valued at about $12.7 trillion across roughly 11.5 million dwellings. A 20 per cent drop in value, which Mr Panos said he had observed in some select areas, worked out to around $2.6 trillion in lost wealth across the national housing market. MORE: Albo’s tax reforms cost Aussies $1.3t Tom Panos posted a video rejecting the idea that a 20 per cent drop in property values would be a good thing. Picture: Instagram MORE: $500k off: Sydney suburbs with most discounted homes “Everyone says a 20 per cent property price drop is fine, it’s all relative – no it’s not,” said Mr Panos...