Sydney and Melbourne lead slowing Aussie property market

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Price growth across Australia’s two biggest and most expensive property markets is slowing much more quickly than its smaller capital city peers, according to CoreLogic’s daily dwelling values index:

Quarterly dwelling value growth

Sydney and Melbourne price growth slowing fast.

As shown above:

  • Sydney’s quarterly price growth peaked at 9.6% in mid-May but has slowed to 6.9% as at 25 August.
  • Melbourne’s quarterly price growth peaked at 6.3% in mid-May but has slowed to 4.1% as at 25 August.
  • Brisbane’s quarterly price growth peaked at 6.6% in late-May and has only slowed marginally to 6.1% as at 25 August.
  • Adelaide’s quarterly price growth peaked at 5.8% in early-July and has only slowed marginally to 5.3% as at 25 August.
  • Perth’s dwelling value index has been temporarily suspended while CoreLogic investigates and resolves an anomaly between its hedonic index and other housing market measurements in Western Australia.

Clearly, the relative affordability of Brisbane and Adelaide, combined with them avoiding lockdowns, is contributing to their more stable price growth.

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I also expect Brisbane’s property market to outperform over the longer-term as its attractive affordability and lifestyle pulls in increasing numbers of residents from Sydney and Melbourne.

About the author
Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness. Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.