Prices Hit Record High
Australian property prices have hit a record high, chalking up ten straight months of growth.
PropTrack data shows that nationally, dwelling prices rose 0.6% in October, resulting in medians 7.5% higher than a year ago.
Almost all capitals now have record high median dwelling values, with Hobart and Canberra the exceptions, with medians -3.9% and -1.0% below peak.
PropTrack Senior Economist, Eleanor Creagh, says combined capital city dwelling prices are up 7.4% year on year.
The standout performer in the house market in the past 12 months is Darwin (+12.9%), followed by Regional South Australia (+12%), Perth (+11.3%) and Brisbane (+11.1%).
In the unit market, Brisbane had the highest growth of 16.8% over the past 12 months, followed by Perth (14.2%) and Regional South Australia (up 12%).
The data shows that three capital cities now have median house prices above $1 million - Sydney ($1.622 million), Brisbane ($1.126 million) and Melbourne ($1.007 million).
Creagh says increased borrowing capacity, lower mortgage rates and improving sentiment are fuelling renewed competition.
“The market appears set for further gains through spring and into summer, with leadership continuing to rotate as momentum shifts to previous laggards,” she says.
Land Prices Growing
Land prices are on the up, with new data revealing prices are growing at more than three times the rate of inflation.
The latest HIA-Cotality Residential Land Report shows median land prices increased by 6.8% in FY2025.
HIA Chief Economist Tim Reardon says the surge is a major obstacle to Australia meeting the Federal Government's target to build 1.2 million new homes over five years.
“In recent years, home buyers have flocked to states like Western Australia, South Australia and Queensland where abundant and affordable shovel-ready land has been available, “he says.
This increase in activity means that, unfortunately, these areas are now producing some of the fastest increases in land prices.
The biggest increases in lot prices are in Perth, which is up 29.8% to $375,000. Hobart rose by 20.8% to $320,000, and Brisbane is up 9.2% to $366,300.
Adelaide is up 8.2% to $292,000, Sydney is up 2.8% to $689,500, and Melbourne is up 2% to $382,500.
New Homes in Demand
Underlying annual inflation has increased for the first time since December 2022, and as a result, interest rates remained on hold when the Reserve Bank met on Melbourne Cup Day.
Trimmed mean annual inflation grew to 3% in the September quarter, compared to 2.7% in the June quarter.
Inflation data is one of the figures the RBA considers when setting interest rates. It has a target band for underlying inflation of between 2% and 3%.
As a result, when it met on November 4, it decided to keep interest rates on hold at 3.6%. The RBA says while inflation has fallen substantially since the peak in 2022, more recently it has picked up.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, electricity costs were a major contributor to inflation. It says electricity costs are up 9% as a result of government electricity rebates winding down.
Housing is another major reason for the upward pressure on inflation, with housing costs up 2.5% during the quarter.
Owners Staying Put
A shortage of supply means the number of Australians moving house is at its lowest point in two decades.
The annual Muval Index, which analyses more than 400,000 moving enquiries and conducts a survey of 2000 Australians, says while some regions are busy, overall the volume of moves has slowed dramatically.
“Many of the moving companies we partner with have described FY2025 as one of the quietest periods in living memory,” the report says.
The Australian Capital Territory is the most popular location for movers in the past year, with 120 people moving in for every 100 people leaving. Victoria had 110 move-ins for every 100 out, and Western Australia had 101 move-ins for every 100 out.
Tasmania and South Australia are both pretty much even with the same number of residents arriving as are leaving.
The Northern Territory had the highest rate of outbound movement, with only 80 moving in for every 100 who leave.
New South Wales had 97 move in for every 100 and Queensland had 95.
The Right Reasons To Sell
New data shows which States record the highest sales during the annual spring selling season.
Cotality data shows that nationally, there is a 6.7% increase in sales overall in spring in the past 15 years.
New South Wales is the strongest performer with a 9.4% increase, while Queensland is up 7.8%, the ACT is up 6.9% and Victoria, 5.9%.
It appears people are too busy out enjoying the sunshine in Summer as nationally transaction levels fall off by 11.5%.
Cotality head of research, Eliza Owen, says because cities in the south and south-east have cooler winters, springtime is especially useful for showcasing outdoor areas, pools and gardens in full bloom.
Nationally, new listings increase the most in spring, up by 16.8% in New South Wales and 16.7% in South Australia.
In winter, the only locations to record an increase in new listings are the Northern Territory (up by4%) and Queensland (up by 0.2%).
