Apartment prices rise 4.3 percent in June quarter; highest rate since 2009: ABS

The combined capital cities saw house prices rise 7.7 per cent, while attached dwelling prices rose 4.3 per cent.
Apartment prices rise 4.3 percent in June quarter; highest rate since 2009: ABS
Jonathan ChancellorSeptember 14, 2021

Residential property prices rose 6.7 per cent in the June quarter 2021, the strongest quarterly growth since the index series began in 2003, according to figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

All capital cities recorded a rise in residential property prices in the June quarter 2021. 

The combined capital cities saw house prices rise 7.7 per cent, while attached dwelling prices rose 4.3 per cent, following a rise of 2.7% in the March quarter 2021. 

This is the largest quarterly rise in attached dwelling prices since the December quarter 2009, and up 9.3% over the last twelve months.

The term 'attached dwellings' includes flats, units and apartments plus semi-detached, row and terrace houses.

Canberra was the only capital city to experience record quarterly growth in both the House Price Index (+8.9 per cent) and the Attached Dwelling Price Index (+6.0 per cent) in the June quarter 2021.

Sydney attached dwellings prices rose 5.1% this quarter, following a rise of 2.6% in the March quarter 2021, up 9.6% over the last twelve months.

Sydney price rises were observed across all segments of the market, with strength especially evident in the upper ($980,000 and above) market segments. 

Melbourne attached dwellings prices rose 2.9% this quarter, following a rise of 2.5% in the March quarter 2021, up 7.9% over the last twelve months.

Melbourne price rises remain most evident in the upper ($610,000 and above) segments of the market.

Brisbane attached dwellings prices rose 3.1% this quarter. 

It was the largest quarterly rise in the index for Brisbane since the September quarter 2009,up 8.1% over the last twelve months.

Brisbane price rises were observed across all segments of the market, with price growth this quarter most evident in the upper ($380,000 and above) market segments.

Canberra attached dwellings price rose 6% this quarter, the largest quarterly rise in the index for Canberra since the commencement of the series, in the September quarter 2003.

Canberra apartment prices rose 13.5% over the last twelve months.

Adelaide attached dwellings prices rose 2.5% this quarter, up 9.2% over the last twelve months.

Perth attached dwellings prices rose 4.2% this quarter, up 12.1% over the last twelve months.

Hobart attached dwellings prices rose 6.4% this quarter, up16.% over the last twelve months.

It was Hobart's largest quarterly rise since the December quarter 2003.

Perth's attached dwellings prices rose 5.2% this quarter, up 10% over the last twelve months.

Annually capital city residential prices rose in Sydney (+19.3%), Canberra (+19.1%), Hobart (+17.7%), Melbourne (+15.0%), Perth (+15.0%), Brisbane (+14.6%), Adelaide (+14.2%), and Darwin (+12.8%), over the last twelve months. 

"Persistently low levels of stock on the market were being met with strong demand and properties transacting at an increasingly rapid rate," ABS Head of Prices Statistics Michelle Marquardt said:.

"The continued growth in property prices was occurring at a time of record low interest rates.. 

"With the exception of Hobart and Darwin, capital cities continued to see house price rises outpace those of attached dwellings such as apartments and units, with price growth for both property types being driven by the upper segments of the market", Ms Marquardt said.

The total value of Australia’s 10.7 million residential dwellings rose by $596.4 billion to $8,924.6 billion in the June quarter 2021, the largest quarterly rise on record. 

The mean price of residential dwellings in Australia rose by $52,600 to $835,700. 

The mean price of residential dwellings in NSW ($1,093,100) remained the highest in the country, with the ACT ($891,700) now the second highest, marginally ahead of Victoria ($891,500). 

The most recent COVID-19 related shutdown in Sydney began on 26 June 2021 and therefore did not have a noticeable impact on residential property price statistics in the June quarter 2021. 

Jonathan Chancellor

Jonathan Chancellor is one of Australia's most respected property journalists, having been at the top of the game since the early 1980s. Jonathan co-founded the property industry website Property Observer and has written for national and international publications.

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