This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
BRISBANE has overtaken Canberra as Australia’s second most expensive city, as mid-sized capitals continue to lead the pace of growth across the nation.
CoreLogic’s Home Value Index rose 0.8% in May, as national prices continue an uninterrupted run of growth since October last year.
Over May, Perth home values were up 2.0%, Adelaide was up 1.8% and Brisbane was up 1.4%, which is equivalent of the median dwelling value climbing by over $12,000 month-to-month in each.
“The number of properties available for sale in Perth and Adelaide remain more than -40% below the five-year average for this time of the year while Brisbane listings are -34% below average,” said Tim Lawless, research director at CoreLogic.
“Inventory levels in these markets remain well below average despite vendor activity lifting relative to this time last year. Fresh listings are being absorbed rapidly by market demand, keeping stock levels low and upwards pressure on prices.”
While both the larger and smaller capitals saw more minor shifts over the month, with Sydney up 0.6%, Canberra up 0.5%, Melbourne up 0.1%, Darwin down 0.3% and Hobart down 0.5%.
For the first time since 1997, Brisbane had the second highest median dwelling values across the capital cities, after overtaking Melbourne in January.
“This was partly compositional, with the overall median dwelling value in Melbourne being weighed down by a high concentration of relatively cheap units,” added Lawless.
“However, Brisbane house values are now also higher than the median house value across Melbourne, for the first time since June 2008.”
The median house value in Brisbane is currently $937,479, with unit values at $615,429.
“Coming into the pandemic Melbourne’s median dwelling value held around a 37% premium over Brisbane’s, and ACT’s median was approximately 24% higher,” said Lawless.
“However, Brisbane values have increased at more than five times the pace of Melbourne values since the onset of COVID, with growth of 59.8% and 11.2% respectively. Brisbane has also substantially outpaced growth in the ACT where values are up 31.8% since March 2020.”
At the same time, upper quartile home values have broadly seen the lowest rate of growth over the last 12 months, across all capitals but Darwin.
With upper quartile dwelling values up 6.7% over the last year, compared with a 13.4% increase in the lower quartile of the market.
“After recording a higher rate of gain through the early months of the growth cycle, conditions have faded across the upper quartile as borrowing capacity reduced and affordability constraints deflected demand towards middle-and-lower-priced properties,” added Lawless.
