Sydney, Melbourne Drive House Price Growth

Australia’s residential property prices increased 1.6 per cent in the March quarter, led by Sydney and Melbourne, with all capital cities recording a rise in prices, according to the latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

House prices rose 2.6 per cent in Sydney and 2.3 per cent in Melbourne, while apartment and townhouse dwelling prices increased 1.5 per cent in Melbourne and 0.8 per cent in Sydney for the March quarter 2020.

ABS chief economist Bruce Hockman said all capital cities recorded a rise in residential property prices prior to pandemic-related restrictions kicking in.

“The majority of restrictions relating to Covid-19 came into effect in late March and did not have a noticeable impact on property prices,” Hockman said.

Hockman added that the mean price of Australia's residential dwellings now sits at $690,200.

Australia’s residential property prices rose 7.4 per cent through the year to March, with rises in all capital cities except Perth, down 0.9 per cent, and Darwin with a drop of 3.1 per cent.

Melbourne property prices increased by 10.4 per cent for the year to March, while Sydney increased by 10 per cent, ABS figures show.

Hobart recorded a 7 per cent increase for the twelve month period, Canberra 3 per cent, and Brisbane recorded a 2.5 per cent rise.

Following the slight 0.4 per cent drop in May for national house prices, Corelogic’s Tim Lawless said Australia’s housing values could come under additional downwards pressure if economic conditions haven’t picked up towards the end of the year.

SQM Research on Tuesday said Australia’s residential rental vacancy rate recorded a slight drop to 2.5 per cent in May, from 2.6 per cent in April, with the total number of vacant residential properties across Australia now at 86,398.

ABS stats show the total value of Australia’s 10.5 million residential dwellings increased to $7,237.1 billion, up $141.6 billion in the March quarter.