92 Hotham St, Collingwood — which was once owned by the Collingwood Football Club — fell short at auction last weekend and remains for sale at $1,379,500.

NOW that house prices are dropping across the country there is one trick you need to know about buying a home.

And it’s pretty simple. Just be patient.

In Melbourne, the median house price has been tipped to shed $60,000 by 2021, with househunters advised they could “potentially save thousands of dollars” by holding off buying.

The city’s typical house will be worth $680,060 in three years’ time, according to the latest finder.com.au RBA cash rate survey.

This would mark an 8.1 per cent decline from the current value of $740,000 — just shy of Sydney’s forecast 8.2 per cent fall to an $892,526 median.

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Expected house value drops by 2021, according to the finder.com.au RBA cash rate survey. Average predictions from 5-10 economists, depending on the city. Inflation not taken into account.

The survey of property experts and economists tipped declines across all of Australia’s capitals: a 7 per cent drop in Brisbane, 5.3 per cent in Perth, 4.3 per cent in Adelaide, 4.8 per cent in Darwin and 4.6 per cent in Hobart.

Finder.com.au insights manager Graham Cooke said the cooling market conditions made it harder for existing homeowners to build up equity.

But they could be good news for first-home buyers with a deposit in hand.

“If you’re thinking of getting into the market over the next few years, hold out until prices have dropped further and use this time to save for your upfront costs,” he said.

“Right now, there’s no need to jump on the first suitable property you see. Waiting a few years could potentially save you thousands of dollars.”

CoreLogic’s Hedonic Home Values Index for September, to be released on Monday, is expected to reflect a 10th straight month of decline for Melbourne home values.

The figure — taking into account both houses and units — had fallen 0.8 per cent in the first 26 days of the month following a 0.6 per cent fall in August.

Experts say Melbourne’s cooling conditions should be well received by budding buyers. Picture: Andrew Henshaw

The 31 experts surveyed by finder.com.au unanimously expected the Reserve Bank of Australia to keep the cash rate on hold for the 24th time next Tuesday, with 85 per cent of them tipping the next change — whenever it may be — to be a rise.

“There is little chance of a change in the official cash rate in the short term, especially given the banks have done the heavy lifting by increasing interest independently of the RBA,” LJ Hooker head of research Mathew Tiller said.

Realestate.com.au chief economist Nerida Conisbee added that while there had been “some recent positive signs in the economy”, they weren’t strong enough to start increasing rates.

AMP Capital’s Shane Oliver expected house prices to continue to fall, while Capital Economics’ Paul Dales said the Royal Commission, the possibility of a Labor federal government and the US-China trade war were “extra reasons not to rock the boat” by lifting the cash rate.

samantha.landy@news.com.au