Sydney Apartments Pose Financial Stability Risks, RBA Says

  • City has added more than 80,000 apartments in past few years
  • Assistant Governor Bullock says risks elevated but contained
Photographer: Brendon Thorne/Bloomberg
Lock
This article is for subscribers only.

The apartment market in Australia’s largest city is “quite soft” due to a sharp rise in supply that’s increased risks to financial stability, a senior central bank official said.

Sydney added more than 80,000 apartments in the past few years, increasing the city’s housing stock by about 5 percent, Reserve Bank of Australia Assistant Governor Michele Bullock, who oversees the financial system, said in the text of a speech. In Melbourne and Brisbane, which also saw substantial construction, apartment prices have so far held up, she said.