Increase in residential property prices across major cities
Residential property prices in Australian cities have increased for the first time since December 2010, according to the latest figures published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Its preliminary House Price Index for the country’s eight capital cities rose 0.5% in the second quarter of 2012 compared with the first three months of the year.
The rise is largely due to price increases in Darwin where they increased by 5.1%, in Sydney where they have increased by 1.4%, in Perth where they have increased by 0.6% and in Adelaide where they have increased by 0.5%, according to the ABS.
Brisbane saw prices increase by 0.1% and elsewhere prices fell. The steepest drop in prices was in Canberra where they fell by 1.3%, followed by Melbourne and Hobart where prices fell 0.4% in both cities.
It also shows that whilst house prices are up in the June quarter 2012, through the year house prices have fallen in all the capital cities except for Darwin and Perth.
The ABS also published its full set of house price figures for 2011. These show that apartments, units and semi detached town houses had a smaller drop in price in 2011 than established houses.
In the year to December 2011, the new Experimental Other Dwellings Price Index fell in all capital cities with an average fall of 3%. In comparison, the price of established houses for the eight capitals fell by 4.4% over the same period.
In Canberra, apartment, unit and townhouse prices fell 0.6%, the lowest annual fall out of all the capital cities. In comparison, established houses fell in price by 1.8%.
Brisbane and Adelaide showed falls of 1.2% and 1.7% for apartments, units and townhouses, compared to falls of 5.4% and 4.5% for houses. This trend also continued in Sydney where prices fell 2.1% for apartments, units and town houses and 3.2% for houses and in Melbourne prices were down 4.6% for apartments, units and town houses and down 5.6% for houses.
In Darwin house prices fared much better in 2011, recording a robust increase of 12.3% and Perth also saw a modest increase of 1.1%.