Fresh blow to Aussie homebuyers
Sydney’s property market has surged back stronger after months of interest rate hikes kept downward pressure on prices, new data suggests.
The Emerald City has driven Australia’s home price recovery in August after leading the downturn in 2022 as the Reserve Bank lifted the cash rate 12 times since May last year.
Sydney home prices rose for the ninth consecutive month, lifting 0.47 per cent in August and 6.19 per cent above their lowest point in November 2022.
The average home in Sydney now sets buyers back $1,056,000, a whopping 29.7 per cent higher than March 2020.
Despite the soaring success of Sydney’s property market, those figures are still down 1.29 per cent from their peak recorded in February 2022.
All capital cities experienced rises in home prices in August except for Darwin (-0.38 per cent) with Adelaide seeing the highest growth (+0.64 per cent) followed by Sydney and Perth (+0.31 per cent).
August marks the eighth consecutive month that home prices have risen across the country, PropTrack Senior Economist Eleanor Creagh said.
“This is the longest period of consecutive monthly growth since the pandemic boom when prices rose for 23 months straight between May 2020 and March 2022,” she said.
“National home prices have now regained the majority of price falls seen in 2022.
“For much of this year, stronger housing demand and a limited flow of new listings hitting the market have off set the impact of interest rate rises.”
Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth are all at their peak price, according to Proptrack, increasing by 4.19 per cent, 7.41 per cent and 7.57 per cent in the past year.
The median price of a home in Brisbane sits at $752,000, $679,000 in Adelaide and $597,000 in Perth.
“Limited choice in Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, has led to strong buyer competition and solid selling conditions, pushing prices to fresh peaks in August,” Ms Creagh said.
House prices in Australia’s second largest city rose 0.15 per cent, with the cost of a home down 0.53 per cent in the past year and 4.57 per cent below their peak.
However, regional areas have only seen a 0.09 per cent rise in prices in the past month or 0.87 per cent over the year.
Ms Creagh warned the spring selling season may put a bit of downward pressure on prices, but overall they would rise again.
“As more new listings come to market over spring, we may see the pace of home price growth start to slow,” she said.
“However, with interest rates stabilised and likely near or at their peak, the confidence in the market is likely to sustain, resulting in more of the country returning to positive annual price growth.”
The Reserve Bank will meet again next Tuesday to consider whether to keep the cash rate at 4.1 per cent – the highest it’s been since 2012 – or raise it for again.
