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This represented a 42.8 per cent climb, according to Cotality’s Monthly Housing Chart Pack for June.
The residential property market “underpins” wealth in Australia, said the report, with residential real estate valued at $11.4 trillion over 11.3 million dwellings.
Over the last 12 months alone, property prices have grown 3.3 per cent. However, this was the lowest yearly growth since August 2023, highlighting a slight easing.
The three months to May saw a 1.3 per cent rise in home values, in line with the growth from the previous quarter.
There were varied increases in values across the capitals in the last three months:
- Darwin (4.3 per cent)
- Perth (1.6 per cent)
- Brisbane (1.6 per cent)
- Adelaide (1.3 per cent)
- Melbourne (1.2 per cent)
- Sydney (1.1 per cent)
- Hobart (0.9 per cent)
- Canberra (0.5 per cent)
The quarterly results highlighted some recovery for the Canberra and Melbourne markets, which each saw a drop in values in the last 12 months of 0.7 per cent and 1.2 per cent, respectively.
On the other hand, previously strong-performing markets like Brisbane, Adelaide, and Perth have each seen a drop in growth as affordability worsens, migration slows, and investment demand stagnates.
Darwin has emerged as a hotspot, with the 12 months to May recording a 37.9 per cent increase in home sales.
To put it in perspective, the national average was an increase of 2.3 per cent. Melbourne witnessed a 6.2 per cent rise and Sydney a 6.2 per cent drop.
The state of lending
Outstanding mortgage debt was valued at $2.4 trillion. There are reported 526,530 total sales annually with a value of $508.5 billion per annum.
The number of new home loan commitments dropped 3.5 per cent in the March quarter, while the total value of these loans fell 1.6 per cent.
Both owner-occupier and investor loans fell 3.4 per cent in the period. Owner-occupier values fell 2.5 per cent, while investors fell 0.3 per cent.
First home buyer lending “trended lower” over the first quarter of the year, comprising 29 per cent of loans. This was the lowest portion since the three months to December 2022 (27.6 per cent).
However, Cotality said most parts of the country are still seeing first home buyers as a portion of owner-occupier lending above historic decade averages.
[Related: Housing affordability sees greatest improvement in nearly a decade]
