Sydney ‘smashes past’ $900,000 median
The median house price in Sydney is rapidly approaching the $1 million mark, with new data indicating the price is now well in excess of $900,000.
Domain Group’s house price report for the March 2015 quarter stated that “Sydney continues to stride ahead, recording another strong quarterly increase of 3.6 per cent, taking the median house price to yet again a new record of $914,056”.
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This was an increase from $882,048 in the December 2014 quarter and a 16.0 per cent increase on March 2014, when the median was $788,181.
Unit prices in Sydney also increased over the quarter, up 1.2 per cent from $602,626 to $609,800.
Dr Andrew Wilson, senior economist at Domain Group, said Sydney’s run was not over yet.
“Sydney will continue to lead the pack in house price growth – clearly ahead of Melbourne, Adelaide, Canberra, Brisbane and Hobart, which are set to continue to record modest to moderate prices growth on the back of improving economies,” he said.
Across the capitals, three cities recorded declines in median house prices over the quarter (Hobart down 0.6 per cent; Brisbane down 0.7 per cent; and Perth down 2.1 per cent) while three cities experienced falls in the unit price (Melbourne down by 0.3 per cent; Brisbane down 2.3 per cent; and Canberra down 3.6 per cent).
When March 2014 is compared with March 2015, only two cities experienced a year-on-year decline in median house prices – Perth by 2.8 per cent and Darwin by 3.0 per cent.
Declines in the median unit price year-on-year were seen in Canberra (down 3.0 per cent), Brisbane (down 3.8 per cent) and Hobart (down 4.6 per cent).
Dr Wilson said two cities in particular would continue to experience downward pressure on property prices in the coming months.
“Flattening economic activity and falling confidence in Perth, and to a lesser degree Darwin, will continue to put downward pressure on house price growth as those capital cities transition rapidly from their previous resource and population boom environments,” he said.