Australia Home Price Jumped by 9.1% for the Third Quarter

Australian home prices rose in the third quarter from the second, adding to a strong investor-led surge over the past year that has worried the central bank and banking regulator, which plan to announce new mortgage-lending curbs soon.

The average price of homes across Australia’s capital cities rose 1.5% in the third quarter from the previous second, the Bureau of Statistics said Tuesday. Prices jumped by 9.1% from the same quarter a year earlier.

In the country’s commercial capital, Sydney, home prices rose 2.7% on quarter, well outpacing other capitals. Perth, in the resource-rich Western Australia state, recorded a 0.1% fall over the same period. Home prices in all other capital cities rose.

On a year-to-year basis, the gains overall were slower than in recent quarters. Home prices surged by 10.1% in the second quarter from a year earlier, and by 10.8% in the first quarter from the corresponding quarter.

The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority and the Reserve Bank of Australia have said they are worried about the “unbalanced” state of lending for housing. A record proportion of loans are being written for property investors, which is helping to drive up prices in key population centers such as Sydney and Melbourne.

Record-low interest rates are fanning the rise in prices, but the central bank isn't expected to tighten policy settings for a while as the rest of the economy is weak.

The above is an extract from the article at: 

http://online.wsj.com/articles/australia-home-prices-continue-to-rise-1415667135

Caroline He

Four C Realty