Residential property prices up 2.4 percent in September quarter: ABS

Residential property prices rose 2.4 per cent in the September quarter 2019, the strongest quarterly growth since the December quarter 2016, according to figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). 

Sydney and Melbourne residential property prices recorded strong growth in the September quarter 2019. Property prices rose in Sydney (+3.6 per cent), Melbourne (+3.6 per cent), Brisbane (+0.7 per cent) and Hobart (+1.3 per cent). 

House prices rose 4.0 per cent in Sydney and 3.7 per cent in Melbourne while attached dwelling prices rose 2.8 per cent in Sydney and 3.6 per cent in Melbourne.

ABS Chief Economist Bruce Hockman said the increase in property prices is in line with housing market indicators, particularly in Sydney and Melbourne.

"New lending commitments to households, auction clearance rates and sales transactions all improved during the September quarter." 

Residential property prices fell 3.7 per cent in the year to the September quarter 2019, with all capital cities except Hobart recording falls. This is a noticeable improvement on the 7.4 per cent annual fall in the June quarter 2019. 

The total value of Australia’s 10.4 million residential dwellings rose by $189.9 billion to $6,869.4 billion in the September quarter 2019. The mean price of residential dwellings in Australia is now $660,800.

The number of residential dwellings rose by 43,300 to 10,395,200.