Price movements
As the spring selling season progresses, the property market is showing signs of moderation despite increased sales volume. While national property values remain in growth territory, the pace has notably softened, with houses recording a modest 0.2 per cent monthly gain and units edging up by just 0.1 per cent.
Market conditions are increasingly favourable for prospective buyers. An expansion in available listings has broadened choice, while the decelerating price growth has created opportunities, particularly for first-time homebuyers. Adding to the positive outlook, the September quarter inflation figure has dropped to 2.8 per cent, strengthening expectations of an interest rate cut in early 2025.
Despite this recent moderation, the property market’s annual performance remains robust. Over the past 12 months, house prices have recorded a significant 7.3 per cent increase, bringing the national average to $897,105. The unit sector, though growing more moderately, has achieved a solid 5.6 per cent annual gain, with the national mean price now reaching $665,465.
As the spring selling season progresses, the property market is showing signs of moderation despite increased sales volume. While national property values remain in growth territory, the pace has notably softened, with houses recording a modest 0.2 per cent monthly gain and units edging up by just 0.1 per cent.
Market conditions are increasingly favourable for prospective buyers. An expansion in available listings has broadened choice, while the decelerating price growth has created opportunities, particularly for first-time homebuyers. Adding to the positive outlook, the September quarter inflation figure has dropped to 2.8 per cent, strengthening expectations of an interest rate cut in early 2025.
Despite this recent moderation, the property market’s annual performance remains robust. Over the past 12 months, house prices have recorded a significant 7.3 per cent increase, bringing the national average to $897,105. The unit sector, though growing more moderately, has achieved a solid 5.6 per cent annual gain, with the national mean price now reaching $665,465.
The pace of house price appreciation across Australian regions has begun to moderate this month. The nation’s largest property markets, Sydney and Melbourne, have plateaued, recording no movement in their respective mean prices of $1,577,958 and $1,022,510. Both cities’ annual growth trajectories now sit below the national capital city average of 7.6 per cent.
In a notable market shift, Adelaide has emerged as a standout performer, overtaking Brisbane in terms of yearly growth. While both cities posted modest 0.2 per cent gains this month, Adelaide’s annual increase of 11.7 per cent has edged ahead of Brisbane’s 11.3 per cent. This sustained growth has pushed Adelaide’s mean house price to $864,071, approaching Perth’s market levels.
Brisbane’s continued appreciation has brought its mean price to $988,379, positioning it on the cusp of the million- dollar threshold currently occupied by Melbourne and Canberra. This trajectory raises growing affordability concerns, particularly given these latter markets have experienced more subdued growth over the past year.
The unit market across Australia’s capital cities mirrors the broader housing sector’s performance, with varying dynamics across regions. The country’s largest markets, Sydney and Melbourne, have remained static this month, with prices holding steady at $877,698 and $625,406 respectively.
Perth and Darwin have emerged as the month’s strongest performers, each posting a 0.5 per cent increase. Perth continues to dominate the market in terms of annual growth, achieving an impressive 19.1 per cent increase to reach $565,339. In contrast, Darwin’s annual growth of 3.1 per cent falls short of the capital city average of 5.2 per cent.
Adelaide has demonstrated robust performance with a 0.3 per cent monthly increase, translating to a substantial 14.9 per cent annual growth, bringing its mean price to $591,246. Brisbane, despite a modest 0.1 per cent monthly gain to $662,082, maintains strong annual growth of 13.9 per cent. Canberra’s unit market presents a mixed picture, recording a 0.2 per cent monthly increase with mean prices at $623,522, though its annual growth remains modest at 1.2 per cent.
The unit market across Australia’s capital cities mirrors the broader housing sector’s performance, with varying dynamics across regions. The country’s largest markets, Sydney and Melbourne, have remained static this month, with prices holding steady at $877,698 and $625,406 respectively.
Perth and Darwin have emerged as the month’s strongest performers, each posting a 0.5 per cent increase. Perth continues to dominate the market in terms of annual growth, achieving an impressive 19.1 per cent increase to reach $565,339. In contrast, Darwin’s annual growth of 3.1 per cent falls short of the capital city average of 5.2 per cent.
Adelaide has demonstrated robust performance with a 0.3 per cent monthly increase, translating to a substantial 14.9 per cent annual growth, bringing its mean price to $591,246. Brisbane, despite a modest 0.1 per cent monthly gain to $662,082, maintains strong annual growth of 13.9 per cent. Canberra’s unit market presents a mixed picture, recording a 0.2 per cent monthly increase with mean prices at $623,522, though its annual growth remains modest at 1.2 per cent.
Regional property house markets have surpassed their capital city counterparts this month, achieving an average increase of 0.4 per cent. Leading this growth are Regional Western Australia and South Australia, both recording 0.6 per cent monthly gains. Western Australia’s regional market has reached an average price of $506,174, representing a substantial 15.9 per cent annual increase, while South Australia maintains its position as the most affordable regional market at $446,479, despite having achieved an impressive 14.8 per cent yearly growth.
Queensland’s regional market continues its strong trajectory, with property values now exceeding $700,000. The region posted a 0.4 per cent monthly improvement, contributing to a robust 12.1 per cent annual appreciation. The Northern Territory’s regional market matched Queensland’s monthly gain of 0.4 per cent, though its yearly growth remains modest at 1.1 per cent.
Regional markets in New South Wales and Victoria have shown signs of revival, each recording a 0.3 per cent monthly increase. New South Wales demonstrates stronger long-term performance with a 3.4 per cent annual growth and an average price of $734,075. Victoria’s more subdued annual growth of 0.2 per cent and mean price of $566,369 potentially presents opportunities for prospective buyers in this market.
The regional unit sector continues to demonstrate strong performance, posting an average monthly gain of 0.4 per cent across the country. With an annual appreciation of 7.7 per cent, these markets are outperforming their regional housing counterparts.
South Australia’s regional unit market leads the monthly gains with a 0.8 per cent increase, bringing the mean price to $286,358. This represents a substantial annual growth of 16.1 per cent. Regional Western Australia follows closely with a 0.7 per cent monthly rise and maintains the strongest yearly growth at 16.7 per cent.
Queensland’s regional unit market has shown positive momentum with a 0.4 per cent monthly increase and an 11.8 per cent annual growth rate. The average price of $594,101 positions it just below regional New South Wales, where units average $605,887 despite a more modest annual growth of 2.7 per cent.
Regional Victoria and the Northern Territory have recorded monthly improvements of 0.3 per cent and 0.5 per cent respectively. However, both regions show more conservative annual growth, with Victoria up 1.6 per cent and the Northern Territory registering just 0.4 per cent over the year.
