Australian residential real estate now valued at over $8 trillion

Other contributors to Australia’s wealth paled in comparison, with superannuation valued at $3.1 trillion, stocks at $2.8 trillion and commercial real estate at $978 billion.

Over the same period, the residential real estate market saw 596,622 total sales, with a gross value of $404 billion.

Overall, with $1.9 trillion worth of combined outstanding mortgage debt, over 54 per cent of household wealth is currently held in housing, the data revealed.

Dwelling values

In the three months to end-July, national dwelling values increased 5.9 per cent – down from a recent peak of 7 per cent in the three months to May.

But looking at the annual growth rate, dwelling values increased by 16.1 per cent in the past 12 months to July – the highest annual growth rate since February 2004.

Combined regional housing saw home values rise 19.6 per cent annually – higher than the rise clocked across the combined capital cities at 15.1 per cent.

“Changes in the daily Home Value Index continue to show a loss of momentum in growth across the combined capital cities, which is likely a reflection of increased affordability constraints easing demand for housing,” CoreLogic noted.

Of the regional markets, NSW emerged as the top-performing market, with values rising 22.9 per cent in the past 12 months. It was followed by Tasmania with growth of 22.6 per cent, Queensland with 19 per cent, Victoria with 18.1 per cent, South Australia with 13.4 per cent, Northern Territory with 8.3 per cent and Western Australia with 5.5 per cent.

Meanwhile, of the capital cities, Darwin saw the highest annual growth at 23.4 per cent, followed by Canberra with 20.5 per cent, Hobart with 21.9 per cent, Sydney with 18.2 per cent, Brisbane with 15.9 per cent, Adelaide with 15.7 per cent, Perth with 10.8 per cent and Melbourne with 10.4 per cent.

The high end of the dwelling market (top 25 per cent) continued to lead housing growth in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Canberra, while the low end led the surge in Perth, Hobart and Darwin.