House prices slump 13% in capital cities

As a result, the average house asking price across the combined capitals sunk 13.2 per cent in just one week, ending 10 August, bringing the median down to $1,069,900, new figures from SQM Research revealed.

Of the capital cities, Sydney, which has been under strict lockdown rules since end-June, suffered the greatest loss of 25.9 per cent, becoming the only capital city to see a double-digit decline week-on-week.

Surprisingly, COVID-free Canberra saw a price contraction of 5.5 per cent, while Melbourne’s prices dropped 4.4 per cent and Perth’s 2.6 per cent.

The remaining capitals actually experienced price rises, led by Brisbane with growth of 4.9 per cent and followed byHobart with 3.1 per cent, Adelaide with 1.1 per cent and Darwin with 0.5 per cent.

Month-on-month, house prices slumped 2.9 per cent across the capitals, with Sydney once again topping the loser list with a loss of 3.4 per cent.

But unlike the weekly results, only one other capital city saw prices fall month-on-month – Perth at 0.2 per cent.

Annually, house asking prices were on a more positive trajectory, with the capital city average increasing by 9.5 per cent.

All capital cities saw prices rise over the past 12 months, with Hobart and Sydney leading the charge with 14.7 per cent growth, followed by Brisbane with 10.1 per cent, Adelaide with 9.1 per cent, Melbourne with 5.6 per cent, Darwin with 5.3 per cent, Perth with 3.9 per cent and Canberra with 1.2 per cent.

Of the capital cities, Sydney currently has the highest median house asking price of $1,558,400, followed by Melbourne with $1,080,800.

On the other hand, the most affordable median house asking price was found in Adelaide at $573,300, followed by Darwin at $604,300.

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According to SQM Research, these are the median asking prices across each capital city as of 10 August 2021:

Sydney
House: $1,558,400 (most expensive - house)
Unit: $686,000 (most expensive - unit)

Melbourne
House: $1,080,800
Unit: $565,200

Brisbane
House: $709,900
Unit: $394,200

Perth
House: $696,600
Unit: $388,700

Adelaide
House: $573,300 (most affordable - house)
Unit: $330,400 (most affordable - unit)

Canberra
House: $820,800
Unit: $484,600

Darwin
House: $604,300
Unit: $371,500

Hobart
House: $657,100
Unit: $434,000

National
House: $686,300
Unit: $427,600

Capital city average
House: $1,069,900
Unit: $573,000