Dwelling Price Gap Widens Across Capitals

Latest dwelling price figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics indicate that the gap between the growth rates in the eight capital cities has widened, said the Housing Industry Association (HIA).

Over the year to June 2015, the ABS Residential Property Price Index rose by 9.8 per cent, with a 4.7 per cent increase occurring during the June 2015 quarter itself. Annual house price growth was 10.5 per cent, with prices in the attached dwelling segment increasing by 7.5 per cent over the same period.

“The variation in dwelling price growth across Australia’s capital cities is remarkable,” noted HIA Senior Economist, Shane Garrett. “On the one hand, price growth is very robust in both Sydney and Melbourne, while prices have actually eased back a little in cities like Perth and Darwin.”

“The wide divergence of dwelling price growth across the capitals is indicative of the mixed economic conditions across Australia. It highlights the challenges in prescribing ‘one size fits all’ policy responses to the housing market.