Analysis of Australian home price movements just got more confusing after the release today of the Australian Property Monitors (APM) house price results for the September quarter. Whereas RP Data-Rismark reported a 2.2% rise in house prices over the September quarter, APM have recorded flat price growth following downward revisions to the prior quarter.
A break-down of the house price results by capital city and nationally is provided below:
Caution is required when interpreting these results. As shown below, the June quarter’s prices were revised down by -0.4% nationally, driven by a -2.2% downward revision to Melbourne. Therefore, when September’s house prices are compared against the June quarter release, house prices nationally fell by -0.5%, with Melbourne falling by -1.4%.
I don’t yet have a copy of the full APM release (only an extract from Property Observer), so I am unable to provide the unit price update. I’ll post the full release when received.
With the Australian Bureau of Statistics and Residex due to release their September quarter results over the next two weeks, we will hopefully gain some clearer insights into how the housing market is travelling.
Twitter: Leith van Onselen. Leith is the Chief Economist of Macro Investor, Australia’s independent investment newsletter covering trades, stocks, property and yield. Click for a free 21 day trial.
