Canberra market faces ongoing downturn
Australia’s capital city has seen a drop in asking prices with one commentator predicting this trend will continue well into 2015.
SQM Research managing director Louis Christopher said the research house believes the capital is “undergoing a downturn in the current market”.
“We attribute this mostly to the slashing of government jobs in the area, which has forced individuals to leave the ACT and seek employment in other locations across the country,” he said.
SQM’s Asking Price index shows asking prices for units in Canberra are down by -6.4 per cent since the same week last year.
SQM predicts dwelling prices in the city will decrease between one and four per cent in 2015 “as a base case scenario”.
In addition, SQM released a list of the top 10 most discounted properties across the territory.
The most discounted property is a unit in Belconnen which has been on the market for 98 days. The initial asking price of $244,000 has been reduced by 18 per cent to $200,000.
The next most discounted property, in Yarralumla, has come down from $3,950,000 to $3,385,000 – a reduction of 14 per cent.
Three of the properties on the list are in the suburb of Belconnen and two of these have been on the market for in excess of 800 days.
The full list can be seen below.
| Rank | Address | Initial price | Now asking | Discount | Days on mkt | |
| 1 | 12/101 Hennessy Street, Belconnen, 2616 | $244,000 | $200,000 | 18% | 98 | |
| 2 | 33 Hampton Circuit, Yarralumla, 2600 | $3,950,000 | $3,385,000 | 14% | 385 | |
| 3 | 208/60 College Street, Belconnen, 2616 | $370,000 | $320,000 | 14% | 805 | |
| 4 | 161/60 College Street, Belconnen, 2616 | $370,000 | $320,000 | 14% | 805 | |
| 5 | 23 Attiwell Circuit, Kambah, 2902 | $575,000 | $500,000 | 13% | 154 | |
| 6 | 21/135 Blamey Crescent, Campbell, 2612 | $319,000 | $279,000 | 13% | 678 | |
| 7 | 114/10 Thynne Street, Bruce, 2617 | $319,000 | $279,990 | 12% | 154 | |
| 8 | 2/1 Cowlishaw Street, Greenway, 2900 | $375,000 | $330,000 | 12% | 182 | |
| 9 | 6 Badenoch Crescent, Evatt, 2617 | $620,000 | $549,000 | 11% | 168 | |
| 10 | 137/1 Mouat Street, Lyneham, 2602 | $395,000 | $350,000 | 11% | 273 |
Source: SQM Research