Australian House Prices Rise Strongly

Melbourne and Sydney housing markets recover

According to the latest RP Data-Rismark National Dedonic Index, Australian home values rose by an indicative 1.4 per cent in October after a sluggish 0.4 per cent growth in September.

Over the first 10 months in 2009, house prices have now risen by 10 percent. According to RP Data’s Senior Research Analyst, “the strong growth figures throughout October after a slowdown during September show that the market is very resilient and that the 25 basis point interest rate increase during the month has not immediately impacted the market.”

The biggest story of 2009 has been a strong recovery of Sydney and Melbourne housing markets with Melbourne leading the way by delivering capital gains of +14.9 percent while Sydney had a cumulative growth of 9.9 percent. Other cities that have performed strongly this year besides Melbourne and Sydney are Darwin (+12.7 per cent), Canberra (+11.0 per cent), Brisbane (+6.9 per cent), Perth (+6.1 per cent) and Adelaide (+4.6 per cent).

Nation’s property hotspots

St George’s National Property Report released on 17 September 2009 has revealed 24 locations across the nation that are likely to provide the strongest value for home buyers.

Suburbs have been chosen based on their location attributes, the value of housing in the area, the level of amenities in the suburb and the demographic mix.

According to St George chief economist Besa Deda, the locations should continue to grow and therefore suit buyers looking to live in a blossoming area and investors seeking capital growth.

In Sydney the best ‘value for money’ suburbs were Granville, Rockdale, Lidcome, Riverwood and Waterloo.

Granville’s 18.5 km distance to the inner city and median house price of $347,500 made it the standout performer in Sydney. Read More »