Capital city growth slows in Feb
All capital cities saw growth stagnate in February with the exception of Sydney, Darwin and Hobart, according to RP Data Rismark.
The new data shows Brisbane recorded the biggest fall during the month, with a drop in home values of two per cent.
Canberra saw values drop by 0.8 per cent while Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth all saw a 0.2 per cent fall.
However, RP Data research analyst Tim Lawless said this slowdown was a reaction to strong previous growth rather than a negative sign for the market.
“The likelihood is that the weak reading for February is an adjustment from the strong readings in December and January rather than the beginning of a flat-to-negative growth phase across the macro level housing market,” he said.
Nonetheless, some cities showed continued growth in this period.
Sydney saw dwelling values climb by 0.8 per cent.
CEO of Rismark International Ben Skilbeck said Sydney was a standout performer.
“When looking at individual capital cities, the Sydney market has had a surprising run of nine successive month-end increases totalling 14.1 per cent,” he said.
However, Mr Skilbeck suggested the market would settle into a more steady growth pattern in coming months.
“Despite the recent strong Sydney capital gains, over the past decade Sydney values have compounded at just 2.9 per cent per annum. Arguably this market is playing catch up before settling into a more sustainable rate of growth,” he said.
Hobart saw some of the highest growth in the country as values rose by 1.4 per cent in the last month.
Darwin experienced more modest gains with growth of 0.7 per cent in the period.