Melbourne's 10.6% annual house price slump now rivals Sydney 10.9%: CoreLogic
Sydney and Melbourne both saw their median house prices fall in the month January as they both approach 11% annual declines, according to CoreLogic.
Sydney median house price went back a further 1.4% to be 10.9% down annually, while Melbourne's accelerated decline saw its median value drop another 1.7%, making it now 10.6% down annually and closing the gap on the harbour capital every month.
It's the third month in a row that the two capitals have seen declines over the one percent mark.
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The median house price in Sydney now has slipped to $902,000, with Melbourne's at $740,000.
Only 12 months ago Sydney's stood at $1.058 million, and Melbourne's $832,000.
Dwelling prices in the two major property markets dropped 1.3% in Sydney and 1.6% in Melbourne, due to apartments now getting caught up in the downturn (Sydney -1.2%, Melbourne -1.3%).
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Nationally, capital city dwelling values declined 1.2% over the month of January, led by Darwin (-1.7%), then Sydney and Melbourne.
There were losses over the one percent mark in Perth, while Brisbane and Adelaide record small loses.
The heat has even come out of the Hobart market. They saw a 0.2% decline. The median dwelling value in the Tasmanian capital is still 7.4% up annually.
CoreLogic's head of research Tim Lawless said the top quartile in Sydney and Melbourne are suffering the most.
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Weakness across the most expensive quarter of the market is most visible in Melbourne, where values across the top quartile are down 12.4% over the past twelve months and 13.8% lower since peaking.
Sydney’s top quartile of the market is showing a similar trend with values down 10.8% over the past twelve months and 14.6% lower since peaking.
“The lower valuation brackets have benefitted from higher demand from first home buyers as well as tighter lending conditions for borrowers with higher debt to income ratios which is likely supporting a shift of demand towards lower price points," Lawless said.
“Although the more affordable valuation brackets across Sydney and Melbourne have seen some resilience to falls early in the decline phase, it’s clear that all segments of the market in Australia’s two largest cities are losing value.
“We’re seeing most of the large capital cities apart from Sydney and Melbourne showing far less divergence between the valuations brackets, which may be attributable to healthier levels of housing affordability and an absence of stimulus for first home buyers.”