Perth leads capital city house prices up 2.4% in June quarter: ABS

Capital city house prices rose 2.4% in the June quarter led by a surging Perth housing market, according to preliminary estimates of the ABS eight capital city price index.

This means the index is up 5.1% through the year to the June quarter 2013.

Apart from Hobart, all capital cities recorded gains in their price indices in the three months to June led by Perth (+3.4%) followed by Darwin (+2.9%), Sydney (+2.7%), Melbourne (+2.4%), Brisbane (+1.9%), Canberra (+1.0%) and Adelaide (+0.3%).

Hobart’s price index fell 1%.

The ABS also upwardly revised its March quarter estimate from a 0.1% rise to a 0.8% gain. 

The latest data means the Perth house price index is now up 11% over the past 12 months - the fifth consecutive through-the-year rise.

Perth housing clusters with median prices below $750,000 contributed most to the rise in the June quarter 2013.

In Sydney, the ABS said clusters with median prices between $400,000 and $850,000 contributed most to the rise in the June quarter 2013.

Sydney’s index rose 6.1% through the year to the June quarter 2013, the fourth consecutive through the year rise. 

The preliminary estimate for Melbourne (+2.4%) follows a rise in the March quarter 2013 (+0.1%, revised from +0.2%). The rise in Melbourne was consistent across a broad range of clusters. The index rose 3.3% through the year to the June quarter 2013. This is the second consecutive through the year rise.

Capital city house prices rose 2.1% in the December quarter 2012 and fell 0.2% in the September quarter, according to final ABS revisions.