- Prices in Canberra having been trending higher since the mid 2010s
- Weekly asking prices for houses now above the $1 million mark, according to SQM
- A housing shortage continues for both the sales and rental markets
With property prices soaring over the past two years, much attention has been drawn to the Sydney and Melbourne markets.
However, Canberra has been one of the stars of the booming property market.
Though prices had been on an upward trend since the middle of the last decade, price rose sharply last year, and very notably didn’t decline during early 2020.
Due to Canberra’s large public service workforce, the territory was mostly immune from the initial financial shock associated with the pandemic.
Canberra
Weekly asking prices for houses in Canberra is now above the $1 million mark, according to SQM Research.
In terms of housing stock for sale, the number of total property listings has been on the decline since the pandemic began, to levels not seen since the early 2010s.
Canberra
The rental market is also tightening.
As of May 2022, the rental vacancy rates is just 0.7%, although this is higher than the 0.5% recorded in March 2022.
While the vacancy rate has been on the decline since 2014, current levels are still higher than what was seen from around 2005 to 2011.
Canberra
Brady Yoshia of Brady Marcs Buyers Advisory told The Property Tribune that the Canberra market has been positive this year so far.
“First home buyers are dominant in the market,” she noted.
“The rental market is very strong with low vacancy rates. AirBnB properties are in high demand.”
So, what’s in store for 2022?
It appears the nation’s capital isn’t immune from the softening market.
Tim Lawless of CoreLogic noted Canberra recorded a rare decline during May – 0.1% – in price growth.
“Although the drop was slight, it was the ACT’s first month-on-month fall in almost three years,” he said.
“Rather than a blip, this market softening looks to be a continuation in the slowing trend that has been evident since a peak rate of growth was recorded in August of last year.”
Data from CoreLogic showed that while the quarterly growth rate was previously 7.3%, it has now eased to 2.2% with the potential of further softening over the next few months.
“We expect the Canberra market to continue along steadily, but just not as buoyantly as in recent times,” said Nick Boyd, Belle Property’s head of network growth.
“Due to the average sale price being lower than some other capital cities – principally Sydney and Melbourne – the attraction of more affordable living will become increasingly important as interest rates rise.
Nick Boyd, Belle Property
“Coupled with a strong demand for rentals and the housing shortage, this currently places Canberra as a market to watch.”
In Domain’s latest House Price Report (March 2022), Canberra was revealed to be the second most expensive capital city to buy a house in, after Sydney. This is a title it last held in 2005.
The premium end of the Canberra housing market appears to be leading the slowdown, with house prices in the Inner South falling by 1.9%.
“The steepest upswing in Canberra’s house price history came to an abrupt halt over the first three months of 2022 declining for the first time in two years,” said Dr Nicola Powell.
“Confident sellers are listing their homes for sale while conditions remain strong and prices are close to a peak.
“The volume of newly advertised homes for sale over the March quarter is 2.8% higher than the five-year average and is the largest volume for a March quarter since 2019.
“This is helping to shift market conditions as the total volume of homes for sale is improving from the recent multi-year low.”
Ms Yoshia expects the sales market in Canberra to remain steady and stable over the next year to five years.
“Some areas may see prices pull back slightly,” she noted.
“There will be a lot of investors taking advantage of good capital growth and high rental yields.”
in terms of the rental market, Ms Yoshia expects it to remain strong with continuing low vacancy rate.
“Both long and short term rental properties will be high in demand,” she noted.
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To view commentary from the other capital cities, view the below articles:
Adelaide Property Market Predictions
Brisbane Property Market Predictions
Darwin Property Market Predictions
Gold Coast Property Market Predictions
Hobart Property Market Predictions
Melbourne Property Market Predictions
