Australian Residential Homes Surpass $10 Trillion in Total Value

An aerial view of suburban houses in Sydney, Australia, on April 22, 2020. Ryan Pierse/Getty Images

The total value of 10.8 million Australian residential homes has broken the $10 trillion (US$6.95 trillion) mark for the first time in the March quarter.

New data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) indicated that the national dwelling value increased by $221.2 billion to $10.2 trillion during the period.

In addition, ABS head of prices statistics Michelle Marquardt confirmed that Australian home values surged by $1.8 trillion in the 12 months to March.

New South Wales (NSW) ranked first among the jurisdictions as the state accounted for 40.1 percent of the collective dwelling value, followed by Victoria at 26.9 percent and Queensland at 16.7 percent.

Separately, the Australian median residential house price rose to $941,900 from $925,300 in the December quarter of 2021.

Sydney had the highest median house price at $1,245,000, while Perth’s price was the lowest among the capital cities, standing at $550,000.

Moreover, Marquardt said that regional NSW and Victoria had surpassed their capital cities in terms of growth in median prices for both houses and attached dwellings.

It is noteworthy that during the past 12 months, Brisbane experienced the most significant growth in median house prices at 29.3 percent, while Canberra was close behind with an increase of 28.3 percent.

A general view of shoppers in a shopping mall in Melbourne, Australia, on May 03, 2022. Asanka Ratnayake/Getty Images

Meanwhile, the ABS reported that Australian household spending jumped 7.6 percent in the 12 months to April.

According to Andrew Tomadini–the head of Macroeconomic statistics at the ABS, furniture and household equipment saw the most considerable growth in spending at 14.9 percent, followed by hotels, cafes and restaurants at 14.3 percent, and transport at 12.4 per cent.

“As COVID-19 restrictions eased, household spending increased in eight of the nine spending categories in April 2022 compared to April 2021,” Tomadini said.

“Spending on recreation, hospitality and retail continued to rise, while spending on health was the only category to decrease in April 2022.”

While all states and territories recorded a rise in household spending, Queensland’s growth was the most impressive, standing at 11.4 percent.

Furthermore, the total household spending was nine percent higher than the pre-COVID-19 level, with clothing and footwear (up 25.9 percent), alcoholic beverages and tobacco (up 21.6 percent), and health (up 14.5 percent) among the top spending categories.