Sydney house prices suffer deepest September quarter decline: Domain

Sydney house prices suffer deepest September quarter decline: Domain
Staff reporterDecember 7, 2020
Sydney’s median house price decreased by 1.9 per cent to $1,167,516 over the September quarter; the steepest decline in house prices of the state's capital cities.
 
It was the first quarterly fall in the local market since December 2015, said Domain chief economist, Dr Andrew Wilson.
 
“The drop in Sydney’s house prices over the September quarter reflects the diminishing impact of the record-low interest rates that have fuelled market recently.
 
"While Sydney’s property market has been the star performer nationally – with prices essentially doubling over the last five years –  affordability barriers are now acting to slow down demand and moderate price increases.
 
“The significant decrease in investor activity, as well as tightened lending restrictions for residential investors, has had a clear impact on the Sydney market.
 
"We saw a similar house price dip in 2015, when similar policies were introduced."
 
Despite recording a decline in both house and unit prices, Sydney clearly remains the highest priced of all capitals, well ahead of the next-highest, Melbourne, Dr Andrew Wilson noted.
 
Sydney unit prices also dropped - by 0.8 per cent over the quarter to $732,321, but despite the decrease, remain 4.5 per cent higher than the same time last year.
 
Median house rents in the Harbour city remained steady at $550 per week, as did median unit rents.
 
While steady over the quarter, the results are up year-on-year by 3.8 per cent and 4.8 per cent respectively.

Domain quarterly stratified median house prices

HOUSESEP 2017JUN 2017SEP 2016QOQ %YOY %
Sydney$1,167,516$1,190,677$1,079,309-1.9%8.2%
Melbourne$880,902$869,598$773,3991.3%13.9%
Brisbane$551,840$552,874$531,767-0.2%3.8%
Adelaide$519,517$520,846$498,971-0.3%4.1%
Perth$554,095$561,391$567,314-1.3%-2.3%
Canberra$723,980$693,962$655,4684.3%10.5%
Hobart$409,592$392,170$356,9164.4%14.8%
Darwin$593,329$615,670$610,510-3.6%-2.8%
National$819,455$823,381$758,367-0.5%10.8%
 
The median house price in most capital cities declined over the September quarter, with the national median house price experiencing its sharpest dip in six years, according to the September quarter Domain State of the Market Report - Metro.
 
As tighter lending conditions come into play, demand for property in Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, and Darwin decreased over the quarter, with Sydney reporting one of the steepest declines in house prices of the capitals.
 
Hobart, Canberra, and Melbourne were the only cities to record house price growth over the quarter.
 
Median unit prices across the country varied over the September quarter, with Hobart and Melbourne experiencing surges in unit price growth, while Brisbane, Perth, Sydney, and Darwin recorded declines in unit prices.
 

Quarterly stratified median unit prices

UNITSEP 2017JUN 2017SEP 2016QOQ %YOY %
Sydney$732,321$738,227$700,656-0.8%4.5%
Melbourne$506,334$489,472$454,6443.4%11.4%
Brisbane$376,685$390,407$402,712-3.5%-6.5%
Adelaide$313,074$308,223$305,1561.6%2.6%
Perth$351,875$377,132$381,065-6.7%-7.7%
Canberra$427,391$419,451$429,7511.9%-0.5%
Hobart$323,174$304,077$257,2146.3%25.6%
Darwin$330,354$354,584$475,199-6.8%-30.5%
National$570,148$570,277$547,2630.0%4.2%

Dr Andrew Wilson, said capital city housing markets generally tracked backward over the September quarter as the lower interest rate driver of recent years dissipated.

"Actions by policymakers to restrict residential investor activity through tighter lending conditions to that group have also acted to weaken prices growth over the last three months.”
 
For investors, Hobart continues to provide the best gross rental yields for houses with 5.29 per cent recorded over the September quarter.
 
Sydney and Melbourne continue to record the lowest gross rental yields for houses of all capital cities, sitting at 3.12 per cent and 3.34 per cent respectively.
 
Canberra is the top performer for gross rental yields for units recording a result of 5.77 per cent over the quarter, closely followed by Darwin and Hobart at 5.65 per cent and 5.53 per cent respectively.
 

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