Residential property prices fall across Australia

Residential property prices fell in all eight Australian state and territory capital cities in the first quarter of 2019, new figures show.

The latest official Australian Bureau of Statistics’ Residential Property Price Index found that average prices across the eight capitals dropped 3 per cent in the quarter and 7.4 per cent in the year.

The biggest recorder price drops were seen in Sydney and Melbourne, where residential property prices fell by 3.9 per cent and 3.8 per cent respectively, while the smallest dip was in Adelaide at 0.2 per cent.

“A continuation of tight credit supply and reduced demand from investors and owner occupiers has contributed to weakness in property prices in all capital cities this quarter,” said ABS chief economist Bruce Hockman.

Over a 12-month period, residential property prices fell by 10.3 per cent in Sydney, 9.4 per cent in Melbourne, 4.2 per cent in Darwin, 2.7 per cent in Perth and 1.3 per cent in Brisbane.

However, they were up by 4.6 per cent in Hobart and 0.8 per cent in Adelaide, while values in Canberra remained the same.

According to the ABS, the average Australian home cost AUS$636,900 by the end of March 2019. Property in New South Wales has the most expensive average price of any state at AUS$806,800, while Tasmania has the lowest at AUS$412,700.

Article published 20th June