It seems like the days of the median house price continuing to rise have come to an end.
After an astonishing thirteen consecutive quarters of growth, the weighted average median house price for our Australian capital cities decreased in the last quarter of 2015, according to the Real Estate Institute of Australia (REIA).
Australia’s housing market recorded the first decrease since the December quarter of 2012, with the weighted average, capital city median price decreasing by 0.4% to $695,788 for houses and 0.7% to $543,468 for other dwellings.
Solid growth in Hobart, Canberra and Brisbane, followed by slight increases in Darwin and Perth, were unable to counteract falling median house prices in Sydney and Melbourne, while Adelaide recorded no change over the quarter.
Annual growth is still strong, but lower compared to what was noted over the last couple of years. Compared to the December quarter of 2014, the weighted average median house price increased by 7.4% while the figure for other dwellings went up by 5.7%.
The strongest market in the recent years, Sydney, showed the largest drop in median prices, leaving some to suggest the city’s housing market may have reached its peak (finally!).
Uncertainty around the future on negative gearing arrangements is expected to further contribute to the cooling off in investor activity. With this, owner occupiers continue to have a strong presence in the stabilising market.
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