Residential Property Price Indexes: Eight Capital Cities

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Estimates of changes in residential property prices and the total value of Australia's dwelling stock, and preliminary housing market activity data

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Reference period
March 2021
Released
15/06/2021
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Key statistics

Weighted average of the eight capital cities Residential Property Price Index:

  • rose 5.4% this quarter.
  • rose 7.5% over the last twelve months.

The total value of residential dwellings in Australia rose $449.9b to $8,293.2b this quarter.

March key statistics

Residential property pricesDec Qtr 20 to Mar Qtr 21Mar Qtr 20 to Mar Qtr 21
% change% change
Weighted average of eight capital cities5.47.5
Sydney6.18.0
Melbourne5.15.9
Brisbane4.07.5
Adelaide4.07.5
Perth5.29.0
Hobart6.110.2
Darwin4.76.4
Canberra5.610.9

 

 

Total value of the dwelling stock in AustraliaMar Qtr 21
Value of dwelling stock(a) ($b)

8 293.2

Mean price of residential dwellings ($'000)

779.0

Number of residential dwellings ('000)

10 645.4

a. all sectors

 

March key points

The Residential Property Price Indexes

Weighted average of the eight capital cities

  • rose 5.4% this quarter.
  • rose 7.5% over the last twelve months.

Capital city Residential Property Price Indexes

  • this quarter rose in Sydney (+6.1%), Melbourne (+5.1%), Perth (+5.2%), Brisbane (+4.0%), Adelaide (+4.0%), Canberra (+5.6%), Hobart (+6.1%), and Darwin (+4.7%). 
  • over the last twelve months rose in Canberra (+10.9%), Hobart (+10.2%), Perth (+9.0%), Sydney (+8.0%), Brisbane (+7.5%), Adelaide (+7.5%), Darwin (+6.4%), and Melbourne (+5.9%). 

 

Total value of the dwelling stock

  • the total value of residential dwellings in Australia rose $449.9b to $8,293.2b this quarter.
  • the mean price of residential dwellings rose $39,100 to $779,000. 
  • the number of residential dwellings rose by 44,300 to 10,645,400.

 

Notes

Revisions

Revisions apply to estimates for the second and third most recent quarters of the total value of dwelling stock (see Revisions, under Total value of dwelling stock, in the Explanatory notes) and to median prices and transfers (see Revisions, under Dwelling transfer counts and median prices, in the Methodology page).

Use of price indexes in contracts

Price indexes published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) provide summary measures of the movements in various categories of prices over time. They are published primarily for use in Government economic analysis. Price indexes are also often used in contracts by businesses and government to adjust payments and/or charges to take account of changes in categories of prices (Indexation Clauses).

Use of Price Indexes in Contracts sets out a range of issues that should be taken into account by parties considering including an Indexation Clause in a contract using an ABS published price index.

Analysis

Residential Property Price Indexes
 RPPI (a)HPIADPI
Dec Qtr 20 to Mar Qtr 21Dec Qtr 20 to Mar Qtr 21Dec Qtr 20 to Mar Qtr 21
% change% change% change
Weighted average of eight capital cities5.46.42.7
Sydney6.18.02.6
Melbourne5.16.02.5
Brisbane4.04.61.9
Adelaide4.04.33.2
Perth5.25.53.9
Hobart6.16.24.9
Darwin4.75.62.5
Canberra5.66.43.0

a. See reference to rounding in Methodology page.

 

The discussion of individual cities is ordered in terms of their significance to the change in the Residential Property Price Index for the latest quarter. The Residential Property Price Index comprises the House Price Index and the Attached Dwellings Price Index.

Weighted average of the eight capital cities (+5.4%)

Residential Property Price Index

  • rose 5.4% this quarter, following a rise of 3.0% in the December quarter 2020.
  • rose 7.5% over the last twelve months.

This was the largest quarterly rise since the December quarter 2009.

Price rises were observed in all capital cities, with the result this quarter driven by rises in the Sydney (+6.1%) and Melbourne (+5.1%) property markets.

Results this quarter were consistent with conditions in the residential property market. Strong demand for housing was supported by record low interest rates, government initiatives, and rising consumer confidence.

Price rises were observed in all segments of the market with growth in house prices continuing to outpace price growth in attached dwellings.

House Price Index

  • rose 6.4% this quarter, following a rise of 3.5% in the December quarter 2020.
  • rose 8.9% over the last twelve months.

The rise in house prices this quarter was the strongest since the series began in March quarter 2002.

Attached Dwellings Price Index

  • rose 2.7% this quarter, following a rise of 1.8% in the December quarter 2020.
  • rose 3.6% over the last twelve months.

Sydney (+6.1%)

Residential Property Price Index

  • rose 6.1% this quarter, following a rise of 3.0% in the December quarter 2020.
  • rose 8.0% over the last twelve months.

This was the largest quarterly rise in the Residential Property Price Index for Sydney since the June quarter 2015.

House Price Index

  • rose 8.0% this quarter, following a rise of 3.9% in the December quarter 2020.
  • rose 10.8% over the last twelve months.

This was the largest quarterly rise for house prices in Sydney since the June quarter 2015.  

Price rises were observed across all segments of the market, with price growth this quarter most evident in the upper market segments. 

Attached Dwellings Price Index

  • rose 2.6% this quarter, following a rise of 1.4% in the December quarter 2020.
  • rose 2.8% over the last twelve months.

Price rises were observed across all segments of the market. 

Melbourne (+5.1%)

Residential Property Price Index

  • rose 5.1% this quarter, following a rise of 3.4% in the December quarter 2020.
  • rose 5.9% over the last twelve months.

This was the largest quarterly rise in the Residential Property Price Index for Melbourne since the December quarter 2019.

House Price Index

  • rose 6.0% this quarter, following a rise of 3.7% in the December quarter 2020.
  • rose 6.6% over the last twelve months.

This was the largest quarterly rise for house prices in Melbourne since the December quarter 2009. 

Price rises were observed across all segments of the market, with price growth this quarter most evident in the upper market segments.

Attached Dwellings Price Index

  • rose 2.5% this quarter, following a rise of 2.5% in the December quarter 2020.
  • rose 3.8% over the last twelve months.

Price rises were observed across all segments of the market, with price growth most evident in the upper market segments.

Perth (+5.2%)

Residential Property Price Index

  • rose 5.2% this quarter, following a rise of 2.9% in the December quarter 2020. 
  • rose 9.0% over the last twelve months.

This was the largest quarterly rise in the Residential Property Price Index for Perth since the December quarter 2009.

House Price Index

  • rose 5.5% this quarter.
  • rose 9.9% over the last twelve months.

This was the largest quarterly rise for house prices in Perth since the December quarter 2009. Price rises were observed across all segments of the market. 

Attached Dwellings Price Index

  • rose 3.9% this quarter. 
  • rose 5.3% over the last twelve months.

This was the largest quarterly rise for attached dwellings in Perth since the December quarter 2009. Price rises were observed across all segments of the market, with price growth this quarter most evident in the upper market segments.

Brisbane (+4.0%)

Residential Property Price Index

  • rose 4.0% this quarter, following a rise of 2.7% in the December quarter 2020.
  • rose 7.5% over the last twelve months.

This was the largest quarterly rise in the Residential Property Price Index for Brisbane since the December quarter 2007.

House Price Index

  • rose 4.6% this quarter.
  • rose 8.3% over the last twelve months.

This was the largest quarterly rise for house prices in Brisbane since the December quarter 2007. Price rises were observed across all segments of the market.

Attached Dwellings Price Index

  • rose 1.9% this quarter.
  • rose 4.0% over the last twelve months.

Price rises were observed across all segments of the market, with price growth this quarter most evident in the upper market segments.

Adelaide (+4.0%)

    Residential Property Price Index

    • rose 4.0% this quarter, following a rise of 2.6% in the December quarter 2020.
    • rose 7.5% over the last twelve months.

    House Price Index

    • rose 4.3% this quarter. 
    • rose 7.8% over the last twelve months.

    Attached Dwellings Price Index

    • rose 3.2% this quarter.
    • rose 6.3% over the last twelve months.

    Canberra (+5.6%)

        Residential Property Price Index

        • rose 5.6% this quarter, following a rise of 3.4% in the December quarter 2020.
        • rose 10.9% over the last twelve months.

        House Price Index

        • rose 6.4% this quarter.
        • rose 12.0% over the last twelve months.

        Attached Dwellings Price Index

        • rose 3.0% this quarter.
        • rose 7.7% over the last twelve months.

        Hobart (+6.1%)

        Residential Property Price Index

        • rose 6.1% this quarter, following a rise of 3.1% in the December quarter 2020.
        • rose 10.2% over the last twelve months.

        House Price Index

        • rose 6.2% this quarter. 
        • rose 10.5% over the last twelve months.

        Attached Dwellings Price Index

        • rose 4.9% this quarter.  
        • rose 8.6% over the last twelve months.

        Darwin (+4.7%)

          Residential Property Price Index

          • rose 4.7% this quarter, following a rise of 2.2% in the December quarter 2020.
          • rose 6.4% over the last twelve months.

          House Price Index

          • rose 5.6% this quarter. 
          • rose 7.7% over the last twelve months.

          Attached Dwellings Price Index

          • rose 2.5% this quarter.
          • rose 3.2% over the last twelve months.

               

           

          The preliminary estimate of the total value of residential dwellings in Australia in the March quarter 2021 was $8,293.2 billion, up $449.9 billion from $7,843.2 billion in the December quarter 2020. 

          This was the largest rise on record for this series and the first time that the total value of residential dwellings has exceeded $8 trillion. Of the total value of residential dwellings, $7,917.9 billion was owned by households.

          The number of residential dwellings rose by 44,300 to 10,645,400, and the mean price of residential dwellings rose $39,100 to $779,000 this quarter. 

          The value of residential dwellings in NSW this quarter was $3,330.5 billion, NSW accounted for approximately 40 per cent of the total value of dwellings in Australia. 

           

          The mean price of residential dwellings in NSW rose to $1,011,100 and was the highest in the country. This was the first quarter where the mean price of dwellings in any state or territory has risen above $1 million.

          The second highest mean price in the country was in Victoria ($834,600), followed by the Australian Capital Territory ($809,600). The lowest mean price was in the Northern Territory ($480,400).

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          Previous catalogue number

          This release previously used catalogue number 6416.0

          Methodology

          Residential Property Price Indexes: Eight Capital Cities methodology, March 2021

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