ABS figures released today show significant variation in dwelling price growth across the eight capital cities, said the Housing Industry Association (HIA).
Annual growth in the weighted average residential property price accelerated to 10.7 per cent in the September 2015 quarter, a result driven by accelerating prices in Sydney and Melbourne. Elsewhere, residential property prices recorded steady annual growth, except for Perth and Darwin, where prices in the September 2015 quarter were lower than a year previously.
“Outside of Sydney and Melbourne, residential property prices are growing at fairly steady, if not modest, annual rates – between 1.7 per cent and 4.0 per cent,” commented HIA economist, Diwa Hopkins.
“In Perth and Darwin prices actually declined by 3.3 per cent and 2.0 per cent, respectively.”
“Overall, the significant variation in dwelling price growth – something we’ve been observing for some time now – continued in the September quarter this year, illustrating very different economic and housing conditions underlying the different capital cities.”
“Other less dated measures of dwelling prices show that wide variation in dwelling price growth continued into November this year. The rate of growth in Sydney, however, has decelerated noticeably. We expect to see this deceleration to similarly emerge in ABS data for the December 2015 quarter.”
In the year to September 2015, dwelling price growth was strongest in Sydney (+19.9 per cent), followed by Melbourne (+9.9 per cent). Annual price growth was more modest in Canberra (+4.0 per cent),Brisbane (+3.8 per cent), Adelaide (+3.5 per cent) and Hobart (+1.7 per cent). Over the same 12 month period, dwelling prices declined in both Perth (-3.3 per cent) and Darwin (-2.0 per cent).
