House price growth slowing
The pace of property prices has slowed over the March quarter.
The pace of property prices has slowed over the March quarter.New figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show residential property prices across Australia’s capitals up 6.8% for the March quarter compared to the previous year. However, the pace of property price appreciation is slowing, according to the Housing Industry Association (HIA). HIA economist Diwa Hopkins said the pace of property price growth throughout 2016 was 9% per annum.
“This deceleration is largely being driven by developments in the Sydney residential property market, where annual price growth eased back into single-figure territory in March this year. Sydney prices grew at an annual rate of 9.7%, beating the national average, but are also the city’s slowest pace of growth in almost three years,” Hopkins said.
Hopkins said price deceleration was largely due to “waning momentum” in property transfers, particularly among non-detached housing.“The volume of attached dwelling transfers across Australia grew strongly in 2013 and 2014. The volume of transfers was virtually unchanged in 2015 and signs of a pull-back in 2016 are now emerging,” Hopkins said.
Dwelling price growth for the year to the March 2016 quarter was strongest in Melbourne at 9.8%, followed by Sydney at 9.7%. Dwelling prices rose in every capital city except for Darwin and Perth, which saw declines of 4.9% and 4.5%, respectively.
The figures come after May's CoreLogic Hedonic Home Value Index showed a rally for house prices.
