- The month on month value rise accelerated.
- Quarterly value rises have slowed down.
- A cash rate rise was announced today.
Australian property prices rose 0.9% in October, according to CoreLogic’s Home Value Index (HVI).
The latest rise in Australian real estate prices is an acceleration from last month’s 0.7% increase, which was revised down from 0.8%.
When did Australian home prices bottom out?
The Australian property market saw home prices find a trough in January, according to CoreLogic.
Since then, the national HVI has increased 7.6%, a mere half a per cent below the historic high seen in April last year.
“At this rate of growth, we will see the national HVI reach a new record high midway through November, recovering from the -7.5% drop in values recorded over the recent downturn between May 2022 and January 2023.”
Tim Lawless, CoreLogic
A quarterly deceleration
While the October price rise was at an increased pace, CoreLogic noted a slowdown in the quarterly pace of growth.
In the three months ending June 2023, capital city dwelling values rose by 3.7%. However, in the three months to October, growth reduced to 2.6%.
“The slower rate of appreciation can probably be attributed to a combination of higher advertised stock levels alongside stretched affordability,” said CoreLogic research director, Tim Lawless.
“With an acceleration in the flow of new listings coming onto the market, it’s unlikely buyer demand will be able to keep pace as we move through spring amid high interest rates and low sentiment.”
Official cash rate now 4.35%
The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) raised interest rates by 25 basis points today from 4.1% to 4.35%.
This latest raise comes after four months of holding at 4.1% and as inflation remains too sticky.
Among drivers of the latest move to raise interest rates, experts said contributors included: tight labour markets, rent and construction, electricity, fuel, and more.
Most capitals recorded home value rises
Darwin was the sole exception to the broader home value rises, recording a 0.1% fall in values for the month. Perth saw prices rise 1.6%, Brisbane up 1.4%, Adelaide up 1.3%, Sydney up 0.8%, Melbourne up 0.5%, Hobart up 0.8%, and Canberra up 0.1%.
The combined capitals also recorded a rise, up 0.9%.
Three capitals stood out, according to CoreLogic, with growth rising by over 10% across the first 10 months of the year. These gains were most pronounced in Sydney, up 10.9%, followed by Perth at 10.8%, and Brisbane at 10.2%.
Three capitals are still below last year’s peaks
Sydney, Melbourne, and Hobart all remain below their respective peaks.
According to CoreLogic, Sydney values are 2.2% below the January 2022 peak, Melbourne is 3.7% below its March 2022 peak, and Hobart is down 11.6% from its peak.
Meanwhile, Brisbane posted a nominal recovery, and Perth and Adelaide recorded new highs.
Regional Australia remains behind
The combined regional results was a monthly rise of 0.7%. This was behind the combined capitals, which recorded a monthly rise of 0.9%.
Australia’s capitals outpaced the regions across all metrics, including quarterly, and annual results.
“Despite the slower pace of growth, every rest of state region recorded a rise in home values over the month, except Regional Tasmania where values were flat,” said Lawless.
“Similar to the trend in the capitals, Regional Queensland, WA and SA are showing stronger conditions with each of these rest of state regions at record highs in October.”
