Five capital cities have recorded price spikes
The Australian property market is continuing to show signs of recovery, with data from June showing price jumps in five capital cities.
Australian research house CoreLogic has released its home value index for the last month of the 2018-19 financial year.
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The index shows price rises in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Darwin and Hobart.
Combined, the rise is modest at 0.1 per cent, but nonetheless represents a turnaround to the consecutive months of falls.
The city-by-city breakdown
Darwin recorded the sharpest monthly increase, with values rising 0.4 per cent.
This was followed by Hobart, where values increased 0.3 per cent.
Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane each recorded monthly spikes of 0.2 per cent.
Dwelling values declined in the remaining cities – Perth, Adelaide and Canberra. They declined by 0.5 per cent, 0.3 per cent and 0.2 per cent respectively.
What do the experts think?
In assessing this data, CoreLogic’s head of research, Tim Lawless, said national home prices may have reached their bottom.
“Our national dwelling value index may have found a floor in July, with dwelling values holding firm over the month following a consistent trend towards smaller month-on-month declines through the first half of the year,” he said.
“The July home value index results provide further confirmation that the housing market has reacted positively to the recent stimulus of lower mortgage rates and improved credit availability; however, the response to date has been relatively mild,” he said.
Steady recovery on the cards
While the market is showing signs of life, Mr Lawless doesn’t foresee a fast recovery.
“Housing credit polices remain much tougher than they were prior to the [banking] royal commission as lenders continue to move away from the Household Expenditure Measure and examine borrower spending behaviours and expenses more closely,” he added.
“Also, lenders now have the benefit of comprehensive credit reporting whereby borrower debt profiles are more transparent, providing lenders with the ability to assess credit worthiness in more detail.”
“The ongoing tightness in housing credit is expected to keep a rapid rebound in housing values at bay, despite the lowest mortgage rates since the 1950s.”
