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The Sydney market has continued to defy gravity but Melbourne price growth has rapidly slowed and Perth is moving at below-inflation pace.
Domain Group’s quarterly price report found that Sydney ended 2014 with a median house price of $874,000, which marked an annual increase of 14.1 per cent. Median unit prices jumped 10.4 per cent to $598,000.
Melbourne house prices rose 3.4 per cent to $610,000, while unit prices rose 2.9 per cent to $431,000.
There were mixed results for Brisbane, with house prices increasing 6.1 per cent to $490,000 and unit prices decreasing 3.3 per cent to $357,000.
Perth prices moved at below the inflation rate of 1.7 per cent, with houses up 0.2 per cent to $613,000 and units up 0.1 per cent to $406,000.
Adelaide houses climbed 4.1 per cent to $467,000, while units climbed 6.0 per cent to $298,000.
Canberra performed poorly, with house prices rising 0.5 per cent to $586,000 and unit prices falling 0.9 per cent to $413,000.
Hobart also reported mixed results – house prices rose 3.0 per cent to $336,000 but unit prices declined 7.9 per cent to $237,000.
The picture was uniformly bleak for Darwin, as houses fell 6.8 per cent to $634,000 and units fell 2.3 per cent to $434,000.
Domain Group senior economist Andrew Wilson said 2015 would be a modest but generally steady year for capital city housing market performances.
He expected there to be a marginal difference between the performances of the capital cities – with the notable exception of Sydney.
“Median house price growth will push up again towards double figures over 2015 and is expected to break through the $900,000 barrier sooner rather than later,” he said.
Of the other cities, Brisbane, Darwin and Hobart are forecast to be the best performers, with Melbourne and Adelaide in the mid-range, and Canberra and Perth a level below.
[Related: Top brokers reveal how to prepare for market downturn]
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