House prices hit 20-year record for annual growth as rates climb

House prices have increased at the highest rates in two decades, with a rise of 25.1 per cent for the year ending December 2021, the latest Real Estate Institute of Australia’s (REIA) Real Estate Market Facts has found.

Real Estate Institute of Australia (REIA) President, Hayden Groves, said the weighted average median house price for the eight capital cities increased to $1,021,710 for the December quarter.

“Over the quarter, the median house price increased in all capital cities except Darwin,” he said.

“At $1,601,467, Sydney’s quarterly median house price continues to be the highest amongst the capital cities, 56.7 per cent higher than the national average.

“At $525,000, Perth remains the most affordable, with the lowest median house price across Australian capital cities, 48.6 per cent lower than the national average.

“With Western Australia finally opening the borders it will be interesting to watch how this impacts on property prices,” he said.

Mr Groves said it is the first time since June 2002 that the annual increase has been higher than 20.0 per cent.

“The weighted average median price for other dwellings, such as villas and flats, for the eight capital cities increased to $658,577 a quarterly increase of 1.8 per cent.

“Over the quarter, the median price for other dwellings increased in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Hobart but declined in Adelaide, Canberra and Darwin.

“At $802,255, Sydney’s median price for other dwellings continues to be the highest among the capital cities, 21.8 per cent higher than the national average, while at $412,500, Adelaide has the lowest median price for other dwellings across Australian capital cities, 38.2 per cent lower than the national average.”

According to Mr Groves, over the 12 months to the December quarter, the weighted average capital city median price for other dwellings increased to $471 per week, a rise of 1.5 per cent over the quarter.

“Over the December quarter, the weighted average median rent for three-bedroom houses in the eight capital cities increased to $471 per week, a quarterly increase of 1.5 per cent.

“The median rent for three-bedroom houses increased in all capital cities except Sydney, where it remained stable and Darwin where it decreased by 3.7 per cent.

“During the quarter, the weighted average median rent for two-bedroom other dwellings increased to $435 a week, while the median rent increased in all capital cities except in Sydney, where it remained stable and Darwin where it decreased 0.5 per cent,” Mr Groves said.

Investor and regional activity remained strong with property seen to be a ‘go to’ investment destination with growing global uncertainty.

“Regional markets have generally enjoyed a period of sustained growth with key centres like Wollongong (30.4 per cent), Launceston (49.3 per cent), Sunshine Coast (32.9 per cent) and Mt Gambier (14.9 per cent) recording large annual increases.

“Household investor finance increased by 13.4 per cent in the December quarter with investors continuing to enter the market confidently in this phase of the COVID-19 pandemic.” 

Canberra the auction capital

There were 2,090 homes taken to auction across the combined capital cities this week, down from 2,979 over the previous week and 2,218 over the same week last year. Of the 1,713 results collected so far, 72.2 per cent were successful, down slightly from the previous week’s preliminary clearance rate of 72.7 per cent, which revised down to 69.2 per cent at final figures.

Prior to last week, the final clearance rate had held above 70.0 per cent for five consecutive weeks. It’s possible that this week’s final figure will slip below 70.0 per cent too once remaining results are collected, according to CoreLogic.

The recent flooding events across Brisbane and Sydney have shown little impact on auction results, with the auction withdrawal rate rising only moderately to 16 per cent in both cities this week, and auction clearance rates holding reasonably firm.

Canberra recorded the highest preliminary auction clearance rate (87.5 per cent), followed by Adelaide (77.9 per cent) and Brisbane (68.1 per cent).

Home loans pricier

Thirteen providers this week increased 263 fixed rates by an average of 0.24 per cent.

National Australia Bank this week cut their base variable special offer rate by 0.10 per cent, and increased their fixed rates by up to 0.5 per cent.

The average variable interest rate for owner occupiers paying principal and interest is 2.99 per cent and the lowest variable rate is 1.77 per cent.

The average variable interest rate for investors paying principal and interest is 3.34 per cent and the lowest rate is 2.04 per cent for 60 per cent loan-to-value ratio (LVR) or 2.09 per cent for 80 per cent LVR.

There are currently six fixed and 62 variable rates below 2 per cent, based on all loans in Canstar’s database.