Hobart’s median house price increased to $492,000 marking the first time in 12 years the city isn’t bottom place among the nation’s capitals.
Across Australia an overall decline was seen in the median house price of 0.1 per cent at $770,086 for houses and 0.2 per cent for apartments to $593,183, according to latest research from the Real Estate Institute of Australia.
Proving Tasmania’s housing market has well and truly bounced back after the real-estate troughs of recent years, Hobart's median house price soared 7.2 per cent over the March quarter and marks a significant 20 per cent rise on the previous year.
Related reading: Hobart the Least Affordable City for Renters
The Tassie capital’s growth has moved it ahead of Adelaide, which now has the nation’s lowest and most affordable median house price at $470,000.
“This is the first time since September 2006 that Hobart hasn’t had the lowest house median price for all capital cities,” REIA president Malcolm Gunning said.
“Adelaide now has the lowest median house price… some 39 per cent lower than the national average.”
In a research note published last week, ANZ senior economist Daniel Gradwell anticipated falling house prices in major cities will be “quite a bit larger” than expected as the sale of new homes in five of Australia’s largest states tumbled in May.
The REIA Real Estate Market data for the March quarter saw the median house price increase in Melbourne (up 4.4 per cent to $855,000), Hobart (up 7.2 per cent $492,000) and Adelaide (up 1.1 per cent to $470,000), with falls in Darwin (down 1.6 per cent to $505,000), Perth (down 1.9 per cent to $510,000), Sydney (down 2.6 per cent to $1,150,357), Brisbane (down 2.8 per cent to $515,000) and Canberra (down 3.6 per cent over the quarter to $641,000).
Despite the falls over the quarter, the weighted average capital city median house price across the 12 months increased by 2.2 per cent after rises in all capital cities except Perth and Darwin, Gunning said.
