This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
CAPITAL city house prices rose nearly four times faster over the June quarter for the steepest gain since late 2021, recouping around half the value lost in the 2022 downturn.
According to Domain, the June quarter housing market recovery gain significant momentum compared to the previous quarter, for two consecutive quarters of growth.
Capital city house prices reached a trough in December of last year and have since recovered $35,000 or 3.4% of the $60,000 or 5.6% loss in value recorded in the downturn.
“The continued mismatch between supply and demand has been a fundamental contributor to the price recovery currently being experienced in the Australian housing market,” said Nicola Powell, chief of research and economics at Domain.
“This has been fuelled by an unseasonably weak flow of new listings and rising demand – with the total number of homes for sale 22% below the five-year average for the combined capitals
Sydney led the recovery and saw the most significant acceleration in growth, having now seen a $96,629 or 6.7% recovery from the 9.5% or $150,761 downturn.
Melbourne’s house market also rose again over the quarter, though the city has recovered just 0.4% or $4,241 after a downturn of 6.5% or $70,862.
Brisbane has now recovered $13,456 or 1.7% after a $47,433 or 5.5% loss across the downturn.
Darwin has recovered $13,542 or 2.2% from its $23,891 or 3.7% downturn, with Hobart seeing a $8,730 or 1.2% recovery after a $63,782 or 8.3% downturn.
Both Adelaide and Perth both remain at peak, having dodged the downturn so far.
While Canberra was the only capital city to hold steady in a price trough, having seen a $140,316 or 11.9% downturn.
“While new listings remain lower than average, there is noted improvement from the deeper declines we have seen previously. Some cities are seeing an improvement – in Sydney, Melbourne, Canberra and Darwin, new listings are higher than their five-year average,” added Powell.
“As housing confidence improves, and as the mortgage cliff unravels, we could begin to see a slowdown in price growth as listings continue to rise, and those looking to buy have greater choice”
While gains in house prices moderated the depth of annual decline, the unit market saw prices increase for the first time in more than a year.
After five consecutive quarters of losses, this is the most substantial quarter of gains in two years for the combined capital city unit market.
Having reached a trough in March 2023, combined capital unit prices have recovered $16,000 or 2.6% of the $34,000 or 5.4% loss in value lost during the 2022-23 downturn.
