Darwin leads nation in housing value growth: 18.2 per cent lift in house values

Darwin’s extraordinary growth and activity in the housing market continues to be highlighted with dwelling values recording the highest annual growth rate of the nation’s capital cities.

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Darwin has had an 18.2 per cent lift in house values.

The spike highlights the extraordinary growth and activity in the housing market with Darwin units experiencing a 9.5 per cent lift in value.

Darwin and NT dwelling values show the highest annual growth rate of the nation’s capital cities in the 12 months to April at 15.3 per cent.

Darwin’s median house price has increased in the past year to $547,000.

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As of April this year the combined value of the Australian housing market climbed to an eye watering $8.1 trillion, and the CoreLogic Home Value Index was 7.6 per cent above its previous high in October 2017.

Core says there are also early signs that investors are coming back to the property market, with February and March recording a -4.8 per cent reduction in first homebuyer borrowing. Property investor financing was up 17.7 per cent in March compared with January, pushing up the share of financing secured by investors to 25.9 per cent in the month, compared with a recent low of 23.1 per cent in January.

CoreLogic’s Head of Research Australia Eliza Owen says with economic conditions improving, dwelling values are at a new record high in every jurisdiction except the Northern Territory and Western Australia.

“At this stage, it seems most likely that the extraordinary growth rates seen through the start of the year are not sustainable, and will gradually trend down due to affordability constraints,” she said.

“Tighter lending conditions also seem likely to put downward pressure on housing demand.”