Australian Capital City Homes Values Continue to Rise in February

Newly built houses are seen in the Western Suburbs on January 11, 2024 in Sydney, Australia. Photo by Jenny Evans/Getty Images

Australian home values rose 0.6 percent nationwide in February, but the jump was much higher in Perth, Adelaide, and Brisbane.

Perth values rose 1.8 percent in just a month, while Adelaide home values jumped 1.1 percent, and Brisbane values leaped 0.9 percent, according to Core Logic research.

Canberra dwelling values increased 0.7 percent, while Sydney values climbed 0.5 percent, and Melbourne and Darwin house prices rose 0.1 percent.

Hobart was the only capital city to record a fall, with home values declining 0.3 percent in a month, the data showed.

CoreLogic research director, Tim Lawless, said potentially there are early signs of a boost in housing confidence as inflation eases and rate cut expectations firm up.

“Housing values have been more than resilient in the face of high-interest rates and cost of living pressures,” Mr. Lawless said.

“The ongoing rise in housing values reflects a persistent imbalance between supply and demand which varies in magnitude across our cities and regions.”

In the last year, Perth home values soared 18.3 percent, while Brisbane house prices surged 15.6 percent, and Adelaide house prices ascended 11.8 percent.

Sydney home values have risen 10.6 percent, Melbourne house prices 4 percent, and Canberra 1.6 percent in the last 12 months. Conversely, Hobart prices have fallen 0.6 percent, and Darwin prices have slipped 0.1 percent in the last year.

Looking at all capital cities in Australia combined, dwelling values have risen 10 percent, while regional house prices have jumped 5.5 percent in a year.

Median House Values Continue to Rise

The median home value in Sydney is $1.128 million (US$733,000), the highest in the nation.

Canberra median homes come in second at $840,103. In Brisbane, this median is $805,593 compared to $778,941 in Melbourne (including apartments) and $727,142 in Adelaide.

The median value of a home is $687,004 in Perth, $652,645 in Hobart, and $499,834 in Darwin. Combined across the country, the median price of a home is $842,109.

In regional Australia, the median value of a home is $612,096.

Core Logic noted the value growth has been accompanied by a bounce in auction clearance rate, which averaged 60 percent in February.

“Auction results and sentiment have both shown a historically strong relationship with housing trends,” Mr. Lawless said

“The rise in clearance rates from the mid 50 percent range late last year to the high 60 percent range in February, points to a better fit between buyer and seller pricing expectations. A rise in sentiment suggests households will have a better ability to make decisions around large financial commitments, like a property purchase.”

Housing turnover is also higher than the same time a year ago, but less than the previous five-year average according to Core Logic.

“We could see the volume of home sales picking up later this year if sentiment continues to improve,” Mr. Lawless said.

Rents also Rise in February

Rents also rose in February, up 0.9 percent in the month, which was the second-highest jump since March last year.

Rents rose 2.4 percent in a quarter across the country, the biggest uptick since May last year, according to Core Logic.

In a year, the national rental index soared 8.5 percent in the 12 months ending in February. Core Logic said rental growth in houses has been trending up since October last year, while unit rent growth eased from 14 percent in April last year to 9.6 percent.

“Although growth in unit rents is slowing, we are still seeing the cost of renting across the unit sector rising at a faster rate than houses across most jurisdictions,” Mr. Lawless said.

“A slowing in the pace of unit rents lines up with the peak in net overseas migration in the first quarter of 2023. However, worsening affordability pressures could be another factor in this sector, given unit rents have surged 24.1 percent higher over the past two years compared with a 16.6 percent increase in house rents.”

Perth housing rents soared 13.5 percent a year, compared to 11.3 percent in Melbourne, 8.9 percent in Sydney, 8.4 percent in Adelaide and 7.5 percent in Brisbane. Darwin housing rentals rose 3.3 percent, while Canberra rentals declined 0.7 percent and Hobart fell 1.8 percent.

Rental units in Perth hiked 16.5 percent, while they were up 12.3 percent in Brisbane, 10.2 percent in Sydney, 10 percent in Melbourne, and 9.7 percent in Adelaide.

Darwin rents rose 2.6 percent, while they climbed 0.9 percent in Canberra and fell 3.4 percent in Hobart.

Core Logic noted Perth is experiencing a faster rate of rental growth among capital cities with “little evidence” of slowing down.

“The same underlying factors that are rapidly pushing home values higher across Perth are at play in the rental sector, with demand substantially outweighing supply, keeping rental growth well above average levels,” Mr. Lawless said.

Researchers said gross rental yields are holding firm across most markets, and even jumped nationally through late 2023

“The subtle rise in rental yields can be attributed to rental rates once again rising at a faster rate than dwelling values since November 2023. At a national level, yields are roughly in line with pre-COVID levels, but well above the record lows seen in 2021 when yields fell to 3.16 percent,” Core Logic said.