Theresa Worrell: National Housing Market Update [video]

This month we are covering housing market conditions through to the end of October, as well as some focus on stronger housing credit flows and a rise in buyer activity amidst low advertised supply levels.

Last month’s Home Value Index results reported a 1.2% rise in national dwelling values over the month, delivering the fourth straight month of rising values.

The October result was the largest month-on-month gain in the national index since May 2015.

The recent gains come after a broad-based decline in housing values, with the national index declining 8.4% between October 2017 and June 2019.

The positive October result takes national dwelling values 2.9% off their June 2019 floor, however, values remain 5.7% below their peak, highlighting that despite the recent gains, home values are at a similar level to where they were three years ago.

The strongest growth conditions continue to be centered in Melbourne and Sydney, however, dwelling values trended higher across most of the capital cities in October as lower mortgage rates and improved credit availability spurred on buyer demand.

Dwelling values were up across every capital city apart from Perth over the month, and based on the rolling three-month change, the only capitals where values fell were Perth and Darwin.

Thirty-eight of the forty-six capital city sub-regions have recorded a rise in dwelling values over the most recent three month period, demonstrating the recovery trend is becoming more geographically diverse.

The recent trend across the regional markets of Australia has seen a clear improvement in the performance of housing across the major centers adjacent to Sydney and Melbourne, as well as rising values in many of the coastal lifestyle markets.

Conversely, drought-affected areas have a drop in demand for housing with values falling sharply across many of the rural sub-regions associated with crops and grazing.