Australian house prices have recorded their worst quarter-on-quarter fall in a decade, new figures show.
The December CoreLogic Home value index reveals that property values were down 2.3 per cent over the December quarter — the worst quarter on quarter result recorded since December 2008.
Sydney and Melbourne were the hardest hit, followed by Perth and Darwin. However, values in Australia’s other state capitals either remained steady or rose slightly.
Average Sydney home values have fallen 11.1 per cent since their 2017 peak, according to the CoreLogic data. This is the city’s worst slump in values since the late 1980s.
The Sydney areas which have experienced the biggest drops of more than 10 per cent include Ryde, the Inner South West, Sutherland, Hills District and Hawkesbury, Parramatta and the Inner South. In Melbourne, the Inner East and Inner South had the worst declines.
According to CoreLogic, Sydney’s median house price currently sits at AUS$918,130 with a median apartment price of AUS$711,501, while the median Melbourne house is AUS$751,246 and the median apartment unit is AUS$541,677.
“Although Australia’s two largest cities are the primary drivers for the weaker national reading, most regions around the country have reacted to tighter credit conditions by recording weaker housing market results relative to 2017,” said Tim Lawless, CoreLogic’s head of research.
Across the country, house prices have now fallen 5.2 per cent from their October 2017 peak.
While the situation is not expected to improve dramatically throughout 2019, Lawless believes there are some positives to take from the current condition of the property market.
“On a positive note, interest rates are set to remain close to historic lows and migration is likely to remain high (albeit lower than last year) which will help to keep a floor under housing demand.”
Article published 8th January 2019