Cities other than Melbourne and Sydney struggle over quarter: APM
While some may be thinking it's positive conditions all round due to the national statistics looking positive, with a 2.2% overall increase for the September quarter, when looking at individual cities the story is different, according to Australian Property Monitors' statistics.
In fact, Australian Property Monitors' Andrew Wilson, commenting on the House Price Report, noted that Sydney and Melbourne data skewed the overall national figure.
Sydney recorded a 4.2% rise, pushing the median house price to a record $722,718, with unit prices increase by 3.3% to a new record median $515,035. It has increased by 9% over the first nine months of the year.
Melbourne rose by 2.2%, however is still 1.8% below that seen at the June 2010 peak.
Brisbane increased by 0.7% over the September quarter, however Adelaide and Perth were flat, with Canberra seeing a fall of 1.4%.
"Although Sydney and Melbourne each recorded their highest quarterly median house price increases for over three years, other capital city housing markets continue to struggle," said Wilson.
"The Adelaide market recorded no growth in the median house price over the quarter with prices up marginally by just +1.1% so far this year – it is the most affordable of the mainland capitals with a median house price of $438,648," he said.
While the Perth median was seen to be flat, it previously had six quarters of growth, pushing it 8.6% up over the year ending September.
Investment activity that is currently strong in Sydney can be expected to soften as yields drop and increased supply decreases rental growth pressure, said Wilson.
"The Sydney and Melbourne housing markets however will continue to record solid to strong buyer and seller activity over the remainder of 2013 at the highest levels since the strong market conditions of 2009 and 2010," he said.
"Most other capitals however will record modest price growth with Perth in particular showing early signs that recent solid growth may be plateauing."