Property Prices Rise Marginally In Australia

The first half of the year witnesses an increase of 2.3 per cent in the rates

Australia’s property prices rose 2.3 per cent across the first half of this year, with Sydney leading the pack. Some of the Harbour City’s most desirable locales recorded strong levels of growth, with affordable locations across the country also seeing prices scampering upwards.

PropTrack data has revealed the top 10 suburbs that recorded the largest six-month median Automated Valuation Model (AVM) growth for houses, and units. “AVM allows PropTrack to value every home in Australia every month, rather than just focusing on properties that sell in a given month. This allows us to get a better read on the change in value for a typical home in a suburb,” explained senior economist at the REA Group, Paul Ryan. “I think Sydney has benefited, in particular, from a real change in sentiment in the market this year, compared with last year. This time last year, I think people were worried about recessions, they were worried about the risks to the global economy, and now we are in a position where we are either at the peak of rates or very close to the peak of rates,” he added.  Ryan added that many inner city areas are typically purchased by people that have jobs in finance, banking, legal and similar.

An unusual entry to the top ten was Biggenden, Queensland. The suburb recorded the fifth largest growth, at 13 per cent, and was largely dissimilar to other top 10 suburbs: it had the lowest median of any suburb in the top ten, and has a population of just 788 people, according to the Australian Bureau of Statics’ (ABS) 2021 census data. North Adelaide also recorded strong growth, coming in third, sixth, seventh and eighth, with growth ranging from 12.3 per cent to 13.1 per cent. Ryan pointed out North Adelaide’s appeal was in its affordability. “We have seen a lot of those suburbs over there topping the list over the last six months.”

A growing expectation that interest rates are at or close to their peak, along with confidence in inflation figures, are likely to be buoying the market too. “I think things like occupancy rates and the recent price growth, which has remained very solid, suggests that we will continue to see price growth ahead,” said Ryan. “In the short term, I think that these regions are likely to continue to see growth. There is obviously a lot of demand that has pushed these parts of the country up over the past six months. I think after we get out beyond that, we will have to think about the broader macroeconomic concerns.”