A new report by KPMG Economics has found the pandemic has caused house prices in Australia to soar, and the effect could last for the next two years until rising mortgage rates and fundamentals of the housing market begin to place pressure back on the market. The report compared housing price changes in capital cities around the country during periods with and without COVID-19 restrictions over the four-year period from December 2019 to December 2023. KPMG found that while the house prices in most capital cities were due for an upswing at the start of 2020. The momentum was initially stymied by the uncertainty caused by the pandemic and consequent economic downturn. However, the ultra-low interest rates and massive government stimulus reversed the downward trend, giving housing prices a bigger push than originally forecast without the pandemic. Brendan Rynne, KPMG’s chief economist, said that the soaring prices result from both the increased …