The ABS has today released its property price index – incorporating both detached houses and units – which registered a 1.7% rise in values nationally over the March quarter and a 10.9% gain over the year (expected was 3%).
As expected, the growth in property values was driven by Sydney – investor central – where prices rose by 2.3% over the quarter and by 15.7% over the year. Solid gains were also posted in Melbourne (+10.9% YoY), Perth (+7.3% YoY), and Brisbane (+6.1% YoY), whereas Canberra’s market remains in a funk, with prices up only 1.1% over the year.
The ABS has also updated its estimated total value of residential properties in Australia, which hit $5.1 trillion in the March quarter, up from $5.0 trillion in the December quarter and $4.6 trillion in the March quarter of 2013. The average price of Australia’s 9.33 million residential properties is also $546,500, up from $502,100 in the March quarter of 2013 (see below table).
This suggests that Australian housing is currently around 3.2 times the size of the economy, as measured by GDP, and roughly $219,500 per man, women and child. No wonder we are one of the “wealthiest” nations on earth!
I’ll provide a full report on the Australian housing market in an upcoming Members’ report.
