House prices up 1.7% in April quarter led by Perth: APM

The national median house price rose 1.7% over the three months to April to a median of $554,410, according to Australian Property Monitors (APM).

Over the past 12 months median prices are up 3.3%.

Perth had the strongest quarterly gain (3.2%) followed by Melbourne (3.1%) and  and Canberra (2.5%).

The strongest performing detached housing market over the year to April has been Canberra, with prices up 7.1%.

Despite this strong showing, APM senior economist Dr Andrew Wilson said the Canberra housing market "continues to tread water, weighed down by a faltering local economy and concerns about public sector job shedding, due to a deteriorating federal budget".

"Prices growth is expected to remain subdued as a consequence, with the April unemployment rate at 4.7%, the highest April rate recorded in the ABS series for the city, and well ahead of the 2.9% recorded over April the year before."