Sydney and Melbourne lead Australian home values higher

10 Nov 2014 - Sydney and Melbourne lead Australian home values higher

The RP Data CoreLogic Home Value Index registered a 1.0% capital gain across the combined capital cities over the month of October, however the annual rate of growth has continued to trend lower.

According to the RP Data CoreLogic Home Value Index, dwelling values across Australia’s capital cities increased by 1.0 per cent over the month of October. The data highlights that despite a slowdown in growth in September, values continued to rise, increasing by 2.2 per cent over the past three months. Although combined capital city home values were up by 1.0 per cent over the month, only Sydney (1.3%), Melbourne (1.9%) and Brisbane (0.6%) actually recorded value rises over the month.

Dwelling values rose by 2.2 per cent over the three months to October 2014 however, only half of the capital cities actually recorded an increase in values. According to Mr Lawless this result highlights weaker housing market conditions outside of Australia’s largest cities.

According to Mr Lawless, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide (which happen to be four of the five largest capital cities), were the only capital cities to record an increase in home values over the past three months. Sydney continues as a standout with home values increasing at a rate of more than 1 per cent a month, up 3.9 per cent over the past three months. He said that Perth and Canberra have clearly moved through the peak of their growth cycles.

"Looking at the increase in home values over the 12 months to October, it is clear that the rate of capital growth is continuing to moderate. Despite the annual rate of value growth slowing, all capital cities have still recorded an increase in home values over the past year. Home values across the combined capital cities have increased by 8.9 per cent over the twelve months ending October ’14, which has slowed from a peak of 11.5 per cent in April of this year," Mr Lawless said

Sydney, and to a lesser degree Melbourne, continued to be the main drivers of the increase in home values. Over the past year, Sydney home values were 13.1 per cent higher, while Melbourne values were up 8.9 per cent. Brisbane was the third best performing capital city for value growth over the year with values up 5.6 per cent followed by Darwin where values rose by 5.0 per cent. Elsewhere, value growth was more subdued with increases of 3.4 per cent in Perth, 4.3 per cent in Adelaide, 4.4 per cent in Hobart and 0.9 per cent in Canberra.

Mr Lawless said, "Despite the fact that the annual increase in home values is slowing, other indicators remain strong."

Auction clearance rates continued to hover around the 70 per cent mark week-to-week while volumes across RP Data real estate agent and valuation platforms remained strong which is indicative of heightened levels of industry and mortgage market activity. The number of new properties listed for sale continues to rise as are total listing numbers. However, Mr Lawless said that the fairly rapid rate of sale is resulting in a slower increase in total listings than new listings.

The above is an extract from the article at: 

http://www.rpdata.com/media-release/sydney-and-melbourne-lead-australian-home-values-higher 

Caroline He

Four C Realty