‘The indicators are the market is going to move along at a good pace’:

DARWIN continues to be the real estate jewel of the nation with residential dwelling values skyrocketing above all capital cities

• Home sells for more than $1.1m in popular suburb in ‘red hot’ market
• Stunning Top End wilderness retreat for sale for more than $2.2m

DARWIN continues to be the real estate jewel of the nation with residential dwelling values skyrocketing above all capital cities.

CoreLogic’s Hedonic Home Values Index for February revealed Darwin had the highest annual growth in dwelling values in the country.

House values grew 16.3 per cent annually to a median of $508,410, and units rose 8.6 per cent to a median of $289,789.

Canberra followed in a close second with an annual house value growth at 9.7 per cent, and for units at 11 per cent.

MORE TOP NEWS

Workers strike at Darwin Inpex site over wages, conditions

New multimillion-dollar world class luxury resort for Darwin

Plans for roof top bar ‘too good to hide from the people of Darwin’

Real Estate Institute of the Northern Territory chief executive Quentin Kilian said anecdotally the residential market continued to boom.

“We are certainly seeing a lot more buyer activity now than in the past five years, and with a shortage of supply its going to have an upward pressure on pricing,” he said.

Mr Kilian was cautiously optimistic the residential market would continue to thrive throughout the year but said prosperity relied on the economy.

Quentin Kilian overlooking the Darwin CBD. Quentin is head of REINT. Picture: Che Chorley

“The indicators are the market is going to move along at a good pace but everything hinges on the Gunner government delivering economic recovery,” he said.

“At the moment people are fairly positive about the way the economy is heading. There’s lots of projects on the horizon. There’s lots of activity we haven’t seen in four or five years, but the key is to actually deliver on those promises.

“That is wholly incumbent on the government cutting red tape for the private sector to deliver these projects.”

CoreLogic research director Tim Lawless also revealed a spike in rental growth for Darwin. The annual change in rents for houses in Darwin rose 15.2 per cent, while for units it jumped 12.2 per cent.

Perth was second with a 13.2 per cent rise in house rents and 10.2 per cent in units.

HOT NEW DEAL: Read everything for 28 days for just $1

“The strength in Perth and Darwin’s rental sector can be attributed to a mix of low supply, due to a recent history of low investor participation, and rising demand as interstate migration trends move into positive territory.

“We’ve certainly seen rents increase across the board, driven by the demand started when we reopened our borders last July,” Mr Kilian agreed.

Follow @raphsaroukos