Revaluing What Matters for Homes: Housing Markets in Post-COVID Australia

Speaker: Dr Todd Morris

Affiliation: The University of Queensland

Location: Level 6 Boardroom (629), Colin Clark Building (#39), St Lucia Campus

Zoom:  https://uqz.zoom.us/j/82603079317

Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic shifted where people live and what they value in a home. Using transaction-level data covering the near universe of property sales and new leases in Australia from 2017 to 2024, we estimate how the pandemic reshaped the value of location and space. We document four main findings. First, the premium for proximity to central business districts compresses sharply. Second, the value of housing attributes changed: the premium for transport access fell, while coastal proximity and physical space became more valuable. Third, rental markets partially revert as remote work receded from its peak, but sale prices show little reversal. Fourth, price-to-rent ratios rise nationally, and homeownership increases among office workers relative to non-office workers. Together, the results indicate a persistent repricing of urban housing driven by changes in workplace geography.