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ISCOVER
Staff Reporter
Capital city home values continue to drop, with RP Data recording a 0.2 per cent decline in property prices in October.
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Over the 10 months to end October 2011, Australian capital city dwelling values have declined by 2.8 per cent on a raw basis and by 4.0 per cent seasonally-adjusted.
With fixed and variable home loan rates falling to below-average levels while disposable household incomes grew quickly, and the cost of housing also lower, Australians are benefitting from a very welcome boost in overall housing affordability.
Across the capital cities there remains considerable dispersion in housing value movements.
Sydney and Canberra have been most resilient with dwelling values off just 1.4 per cent and 1.1 per cent from their peaks.
In the month of October, Sydney and Canberra homes both produced flat to positive capital growth, while the other capitals posted declines ranging from 0.6 per cent in Melbourne to 1.6 per cent in Brisbane.
RP Data's director of research, Tim Lawless said the year-to-date results highlight the divergent outcomes more clearly.
"Over the 10 months to October, Canberra and Sydney dwelling values have not moved a great deal: up 0.9 per cent and down 1.4 per cent respectively," he said.
"In contrast, Brisbane home values have been hit hard and are now off 7.5 per cent, while Melbourne dwellings have corrected 5.8 per cent after very strong 25-30 per cent capital growth over 2009-10.
"The combination of lower interest rates, cheaper homes, and rising incomes is generating a welcome boost to housing affordability, particularly in those markets where value falls have been more significant."
