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Growth flat in first month of Spring

According to RP Data, Housing values eased their way into Spring, with the RP Data CoreLogic Home Value Index posting a 0.1% capital gain across the combined capital cities over the month of September.

Dwelling values across Australia’s capital cities were virtually flat over the month of September which translates into a 2.9 per cent capital gain over the third quarter of 2014. The flat result for September masks the fact that five of Australia’s capital cities recorded a fall in values over the month whilst only Sydney (+0.8%), Brisbane (+0.7%) and Adelaide (+0.9%) recorded an increase in dwelling values over the month.

Sydney & Melbourne still driving growth

The September quarter saw capital city dwelling values rise by 2.9 per cent. According to RP Data national research director Tim Lawless, this was once again driven by exceptionally strong conditions across the Sydney and Melbourne markets where the quarterly capital gain rate was 4.1 per cent and 3.7 per cent respectively.

National view

Dwelling values are now 9.3 per cent higher over the twelve months to the end of September 2014, with every capital city recording an increase in dwelling values over this period. Sydney values are driving the growth trend, increasing by 14.3 per cent over the past twelve months. A substantial gap exists between Sydney and the next best performer, Melbourne, where dwelling values increased by 8.1 per cent. Darwin was the third strongest performer over the past year with a 7.1 per cent capital gain, followed by Brisbane at 6.4 per cent and Adelaide at 5.8 per cent. Hobart values were 4.6 per cent higher over the past twelve months while in Perth, values were 3.2 per cent higher. Canberra recorded the lowest rate of annual capital gain at 1.7 per cent.

Despite the ease in capital gains over September, other indicators remained strong over the first month of spring.

Auction clearance rates continued to beat the 70 per cent mark week-to-week while volumes across RP Data real estate agent and valuation platforms remained strong which indicates heightened levels of industry and mortgage market activity.

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