Property prices increase in all capital cities

Residential property prices rose 3.0 per cent in the December quarter 2020, the strongest quarterly growth since the December quarter 2019, according to figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).

All capital cities recorded a rise in residential property prices in the December quarter 2020, led by Sydney (3.0 per cent) and Melbourne (3.4 per cent). Property prices also rose in Brisbane (2.7 per cent), Perth (2.9 per cent), Adelaide (2.6 per cent), Canberra (3.4 per cent), Hobart (3.1 per cent), and Darwin (2.2 per cent).

ABS Head of Prices Statistics Michelle Marquardt said: "The rise in property prices is consistent with a range of housing market indicators. New lending commitments to households, auction clearance rates and days on market all improved during the December quarter."

House prices rose 3.9 per cent in Sydney and 3.7 per cent in Melbourne, while attached dwelling prices rose 1.4 per cent in Sydney and 2.5 per cent in Melbourne.

"Annually, residential property prices rose 3.6 per cent. This is the first time that all capital cities have seen an annual rise since the December quarter 2014. The largest rise in property prices was in Hobart (6.4 per cent), followed by Canberra (5.2 per cent) and Perth (4.2 per cent)."

"The numbers of residential property sales increased in all capital cities apart from Melbourne and Hobart during 2020. The strongest increases were observed in Perth, Canberra, Sydney and Brisbane," Ms Marquardt said. 

The total value of Australia’s 10.6 million residential dwellings rose by $257.9 billion to $7,724.4 billion in the December quarter 2020. This is the strongest rise since the December quarter 2016. The mean price of residential dwellings in Australia is now $728,500.

Further details can be found in Residential Property Price Indexes: Eight Capital Cities, available for free download from the ABS website: http://www.abs.gov.au.