House Prices Grow Slightly In Q1 2013 – ABS

In the first three months of the year, house prices across Australia’s eight capital cities edged up by 0.1% after rising by 2% the previous quarter, the latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) revealed.

In the 12 months to March, home prices in Australia went up by 2.6%, roughly matching the increase in consumer price inflation, but proving lower than the overall income increase recorded in the period.

ABS registered a distinct variation between the developments of the housing markets of the different capitals. The capital that exhibited the biggest increase in house prices was Darwin, where the house price index gained 1.9% in quarterly terms and 8% compared with the same period of 2012. It was followed by the city of Perth, which registered a 1.2% quarterly increase and an annual growth of 6.1%, ABC News reported.

Sydney, Australia’s most populous city, saw house prices go up by 3.6% on the year. Compared with the October-December quarter, house prices remained unchanged. In Canberra, residential properties were 1.5% more expensive when compared with the same period of 2012, but just 0.2% costlier than the previous three months. Melbourne scored a similar quarterly rise in house costs and a stronger improvement of 1.1% on the year.

The house market in Brisbane recorded a 1.4% annual rise and a 0.3% quarterly decline in prices, while Adelaide saw house prices slip 0.3% on the quarter but gain 0.9% on the year.

The city of Hobart failed to score a rise in prices, registering a 0.3% decline on a quarterly basis and a 1.9% drop in annual terms.