Sydney and Melbourne’s housing markets will hit bottom by the second quarter of this year, Ray White chairman Brian White says. There has been a healthy adjustment after the boom market, White says, and there is now evidence of more people attending open homes and auctions as potential buyers assess the state of the market.

“My expectation is that by the end of March, it will be the bottom of the market,” says White.“No one ever gets it exactly right, but by the activity that is happening we expect good evidence over the next few months. More people are at auctions, not necessarily to buy but to gauge what’s happening, which has always been an important indicator of the market. Our recent sales activity shows us that the buyers are now making acquisitions and expressing the view that they don’t want to miss the bottom of the market.”

Housing values in Sydney rose 75% (on avg) in the five years to July 2017 and Melbourne’s housing prices rose 58%, according to CoreLogic. Measures of Melbourne price movements from various research sources in the past 12 months range from a rise of 1.4% through a decline of 2% - 9%. For Sydney, different research entities report declines ranging from 5% to 10%.