MARCH KEY FIGURES

	Dec Qtr 10 to Mar Qtr 11	Mar Qtr 10 to Mar Qtr 11
Established house prices	% change	% change
Weighted average of eight capital cities	-1.7	-0.2
Sydney	-1.8	0.8
Melbourne	-2.5	1.1
Brisbane	-2.5	-3.6
Adelaide	-1.0	0.9
Perth	0.5	-3.2
Hobart	0.4	0.6
Darwin	-1.0	0.5
Canberra	-0.4	1.1

Established house prices, Weighted average of eight capital cities - Quarterly % change

Established house prices, Quarterly % change - March quarter 2011

MARCH KEY POINTS


ESTABLISHED HOUSE PRICES

Quarterly Changes

• Preliminary estimates show the price index for established houses for the weighted average of the eight capital cities decreased 1.7% in the March quarter 2011.
• The capital city indexes decreased in Melbourne (-2.5%), Sydney (-1.8%), Brisbane (-2.5%), Adelaide (-1.0%), Canberra (-0.4%) and Darwin (-1.0%), and increased in Perth (+0.5%) and Hobart (+0.4%).

Annual Changes (March Quarter 2010 to March Quarter 2011)

• Preliminary estimates show that the price index for established houses for the weighted average of the eight capital cities decreased 0.2% in the year to March quarter 2011.
• Annually, house prices increased in Melbourne (+1.1%), Canberra (+1.1%), Adelaide (+0.9%), Sydney (+0.8%), Hobart (+0.6%), and Darwin (+0.5%), and decreased in Brisbane (-3.6%) and Perth (-3.2%).

NOTES

FORTHCOMING ISSUES

ISSUE (QUARTER)	Release Date
June 2011	2 August 2011
September 2011	1 November 2011
December 2011	1 February 2012
March 2012	1 May 2012

CHANGES IN THIS ISSUE

There are no changes in this issue.


REVISIONS

Estimates for the two most recent quarters of the HPI series are preliminary and subject to revision (see paragraphs 15 to 19 of the Explanatory notes).


IMPACT OF FLOODS

Collection of house price data was not impacted by the floods in Brisbane in January 2011. Preliminary data indicates a decrease in the number of transactions of established houses in Brisbane in the March quarter 2011. However, it is not possible to isolate the effect of flooding in parts of the Brisbane Statistical Division from an overall decrease in market activity. Leading indicator data is a combination of valuers-general and financial institution data. The number of transactions in March quarter 2011, based on valuers-general data only, will be available in the September quarter 2011 publication. At that time, the final house price index result and the unstratified median house price for Brisbane for March quarter 2011 will also be available. ABS price index compilation methodologies and quality assurance processes have ensured that any impact of the floods on house prices has been reflected in the data included in this publication.


INQUIRIES

For further information about these and related statistics, contact the National Information and Referral Service on 1300 135 070 or Toni Graham on Sydney (02) 9268 4163.