House prices see largest price drop for last 7 years

Malcolm Gunning, president of the Real Estate Institute of Australia, said the weighted average median price for houses across all capital cities, declined to $751,411 over the quarter. This represents a decline in all capital cities except for Brisbane, Adelaide and Melboure, with the latter holding steady.

Of those that declined, Hobart saw the largest decline and the lowest median house price at $475,000.

Meanwhile, the weighted average median price for other dwellings declined to $587,959 over the quarter. This represents a decline in all capital cities except for Melbourne and Canberra.

Median rents

The weighted average vacancy rate across all capital cities rose to 2.6 per cent for the quarter, which Mr Gunning said indicated “a slight easing of the rental market”.

“The markets of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Canberra and Hobart have vacancy rates below the 3.0 per cent benchmark indicating a strong demand for rental accommodation in these capital cities,” he said.

Median rents for three-bedroom houses were relatively stable, with increases seen in Melbourne and Hobart, saw no movement in Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth and Canberra, and declined in Darwin.

Two-bedroom house median rents were nearly as stable, with increases in Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide, remained table in Sydney, Perth and Canberra, while declining in Darwin and Hobart.

Loans

Across the country, loan numbers declined by 11.9 per cent, which included a 3.7 per cent drop in first home buyers.

Loan sizes also fell with the average loan declining by 1.8 per cent, which the REIA claims is the largest quarterly decline since March 2017.