DECEMBER QTR KEY FIGURES
 | Sep Qtr 04 to Dec Qtr 04 | Dec Qtr 2003 to Dec Qtr 2004 |
| Established house prices | % change | % change |
|
| Weighted average of eight capital cities | 0.6 | 2.7 |
| Sydney | -0.1 | 0.0 |
| Melbourne | 0.4 | -1.5 |
| Brisbane | 0.7 | 8.4 |
| Adelaide | 1.7 | 8.8 |
| Perth | 2.4 | 8.9 |
| Hobart | 0.8 | 7.1 |
| Darwin | -0.6 | 11.6 |
| Canberra | -1.1 | 0.2 |
|
Established house prices, Quarterly % change
| Established house prices, Quarterly % change - December quarter 2004
|
DECEMBER QTR KEY POINTS
ESTABLISHED HOUSE PRICES
QUARTERLY CHANGES
- The price index for established houses in Australia increased 0.6% in the December quarter 2004, compared with a decrease of 0.7% in the September quarter 2004.
- House prices rose in Perth (+2.4%), Adelaide (+1.7%), Hobart (+0.8%), Brisbane (+0.7%) and Melbourne (+0.4%), but fell in the other capital cities: Canberra (-1.1%), Darwin (-0.6%) and Sydney (-0.1%).
ANNUAL CHANGES
- Over the twelve months to December quarter 2004, established house prices rose 2.7%. It was the lowest annual increase since the December quarter 1996.
- Annually, house prices increased in: Darwin (+11.6%), Perth (+8.9%), Adelaide (+8.8%), Brisbane (+8.4%), Hobart (+7.1%) and Canberra (+0.2%). House prices remained unchanged in Sydney and fell in Melbourne (-1.5%).
NOTES
CONSIDERATIONS WHEN INTERPRETING THE ESTABLISHED HOUSE PRICE INDEX
As noted in paragraphs 8 and 9 of the Explanatory Notes of this publication, movements in the average price of established houses are derived from sales data in each period and can be influenced by compositional changes. In order to minimise the effects of compositional change on the measures of price change, the ABS stratifies the sales of established houses by geographic area. Compared with an approach which does not stratify by area, the difference in the measure of aggregate price change for a capital city will be most evident during periods when different geographical areas within a city experience different rates of price change. In the December quarter 2004 Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane have been the cities most affected by significantly different price changes in the various regions within the city.
In addition, analysis of recent sales data indicates that the overall number of established house transactions declined in most capital cities in the December quarter 2004, when compared with the previous quarter. As the reliability of each index is largely dependent on the number of price observations each quarter, users are advised to exercise more caution when analysing individual quarter to quarter movements during periods of declining market activity (see paragraphs 11 and 12 of the Explanatory Notes).
INQUIRIES
For further information about these and related statistics, contact Steve Whennan on Canberra (02) 6252 6251 or the National Information and Referral Service on 1300 135 070.
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