The ABS has today released its new property price index – incorporating both detached houses and units – which registered a 3.4% rise in values nationally over the quarter and a 9.3% gain over the year (see below table).
As expected, the growth in property values was driven by Sydney – investor central – where prices jumped by 4.7% over the quarter and by 13.8% over the year. Solid gains were also posted in Melbourne (+7.9% YoY) and Perth (+8.7% YoY), whereas Canberra’s market is in an austerity driven funk, with prices down 0.3% over the year.
For the first time, the ABS has published its estimated total value of residential properties in Australia, which hit $5 trillion for the first time, up from $4.8 trillion in the September quarter. The average price of Australia’s 9.3 million residential properties is also $539,400, up from $496,800 in the December quarter 2012 (see below table).
This suggests that Australian housing is currently around 3.2 times the size of the economy, as measured by GDP.
I’ll provide a full report on the Australian housing market in an upcoming Members’ report, due for release later this month.
