Australian housing in a growth phase: Bendigo Bank/REIA report
Australian housing is in a growth phase, according to the Real Estate Institute of Australia.
Pointing to the latest Bendigo Bank/REIA Real Estate Market Facts report, president Peter Bushby said: “The weighted average, capital city, median price increased 3.0% for houses and 2.2% for other dwellings during the September quarter.
“The weighted average, median house price for eight capital cities is now $562,503. Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Hobart contributed to the increase, while Perth recorded the biggest drop, down by 3.8%.
“At $722,718, the Sydney median house price is the highest across the capital cities. Hobart remains the lowest at $352,000 -- 37.4% lower than the national weighted average.”
Bushby said that, compared to the same time last year, the weighted average median house price rose 9.5%.
“The weighted average median price for other dwellings in the eight capital cities was $460,315 over the quarter with Sydney, Melbourne and Darwin recording rises, while Adelaide had the biggest quarterly fall, down by 3.2%.
“There was good news for investors in some centres. Over the September quarter, the median house rent for three-bedroom houses increased in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Darwin. Rents remained unchanged in Adelaide and Canberra while Perth and Hobart fell by 1.0% and 2.1% respectively.
“For the next year we expect interest rates to stay relatively low and continue to assist the market. We expect continued steady improvement in activity in most markets and generally a more positive year ahead provided there are no left-field global issues that emerge.”
