Aussie home prices hit dizzying new peak

Supercharged interest rates haven’t had the effect on Aussie home values many experts thought they would and this could be just the beginning of a new price cycle.

Home prices across the country have hit a new high, despite the RBA ramping up interest rates in unprecedented fashion.

According to PropTrack’s Home Price Index, the Australian median home price hit a new high of $754,000 in September, as values clawed back all the territory lost during the Reserve Bank of Australia’s recent manic cash rate hikes.

National home values grew 0.35 per cent in September, for 3.75 per cent growth over the past 12 months, PropTrack reported.

A shortage of listings, record immigration and the rental crisis have more than outflanked the RBA’s interest explosion. As then Governor Philip Lowe pushed the cash rate from 0.1 per cent in April 2022 to 4.1 per cent in June, where it current sits.

Home prices across the country have hit a new high, despite the RBA ramping up interest rates in unprecedented fashion.

That’s despite him indicating no rate rises would happen until 2024.

“Despite the uplift in the number of properties coming to market, national home prices have moved higher again, regaining 2022’s rapid price falls in entirety to reach a record high in September,” PropTrack senior economist Eleanor Creagh said.

“Home price growth has been driven by record levels of net overseas migration, tight rental markets and a housing shortage. While a sharp increase in the number of properties hitting the market in Sydney and Melbourne has been improving choice for buyers, strong demand has seen prices continue to lift.”

During September, prices grew most in Perth (0.71 per cent), followed by Sydney (0.48 per cent), Adelaide (0.48 per cent) and Brisbane (0.39 per cent).

MORE: SA home prices on track for double-digit growth this year

Median home prices are now at record highs in Perth ($597,000), Adelaide ($689,000) and Brisbane ($762,000).

Low stock levels in those capital are pushing prices skyward.

MORE: Brisbane home price hits new record ‘sooner than expected’

Sydney’s median price is just 0.03 per cent below it’s previous peak at $1.057m. The Harbour City has now enjoyed 10 successive months of price growth.

“Sydney has led Australia’s home price recovery after leading the downturn in 2022,” Creagh said. “Prices in Sydney have now regained most of the decline in values recorded in 2022.”

MORE: Sydney home prices close in on surprising new peak

Melbourne’s median home price of $810,000 is four per cent below its March 2022 peak.

“Melbourne home price growth accelerated in September, with prices climbing 0.25 per cent month-on-month,” Ms Creagh said.

“Home prices are up 1.66 per cent from their low point recorded in January 2023, meaning the price recovery in Melbourne is lagging Sydney and Brisbane, but remains ahead of the recovery seen in Hobart and Canberra.”

MORE: Melbourne records first annual uptick in house prices

All the capital cities, prices rose 0.41 per cent in September, for annual growth of 4.76 per cent and a median home price of $817,000.

In regional Australia, prices rose 0.18 per cent, for annual growth of 1.28 per cent and a median home price of $619,000.

There appears to be no end to sight to dizzying home prices, with top four accounting firm KPMG predicting values across the nation will rise by around 15 per cent over the next 18 months.

Originally published as Aussie home prices hit dizzying new peak