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Australia records strongest yearly growth in home prices
By Rachel Clun
Australian property prices jumped 23.7 per cent last year – their strongest annual growth on record – helped by rises in all capital cities in the December quarter.
The total value of the nation’s 10.8 million homes grew by $2 trillion to a record $9.9 trillion last year, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ residential property prices index report.
A house auction in Sydney this month. The total value of the nation’s homes rose $2 trillion last year.Credit: Steven Siewert
Property prices across most capital cities grew at the highest rate since the bureau started the index in 2003.
The ABS said home prices rose by 4.1 per cent in Sydney during the final three months of last year, taking the annual growth rate to 26.7 per cent.
But Sydney was eclipsed by Brisbane, where prices jumped by 9.6 per cent in the quarter, taking the annual rate there to 27.8 per cent.
The fastest-growing market nationally over the 12 months was Hobart. Prices in the southern capital lifted by 6.5 per cent in the quarter to be 29.8 per cent higher over 2021.
In the nation’s second-largest city, Melbourne, prices rose by 3.9 per cent in the quarter to be 20 per cent higher over the year. The annual rate is the highest since June 2010.
Only Darwin and Perth experienced annual property price growth below 20 per cent.
ABS head of prices statistics Michelle Marquardt said growth in house prices continued to outpace apartments and terraces. House prices rose 27.5 per cent through last year, while attached dwelling prices rose 14 per cent.
“Days on market fell and sales transaction volumes increased. Record low interest rates and strong demand have continued to support growth in property prices”, she said.
The value of NSW homes lifted by $900 billion through the year to reach just over $4 trillion, making up about 41 per cent of total home values nationally. In Victoria, home values grew by $500 billion to $2.7 trillion.
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