Australian Housing: Second Quarter Prices Spike

With Australian housing prices at an all-time high, the real estate market seems to have fully recovered from 2011 climates.  The current increase, which shows June numbers at 2.8 percent higher than the previous quarter, is the highest increase since March of 2010. This is good news for Aussie home owners.

The national average home price was $564,325, with Sydney, Perth, and Canberra recording the highest June home values in history. Sydney posted strong numbers as well, with an average home value of $690,064 for June's quarter, also the highest ever.

Some Australian housing markets, however, didn't fare quite as well. Brisbane saw a 2.4 percent quarterly drop in June's numbers, much in part to a suspected over-development of apartment homes in the city area. Hobart also saw no growth, but has enjoyed increased values over the first half of the year. Adelaide showed only slight increases in the June quarter, while Darwin's numbers fell 2.1 percent in June, still 5.7 percent higher on the year.

Buyer activity is expected to increase, along with housing prices, throughout the remainder of 2013. Most Australian housing markets are at near record levels and/or rising, with investment properties contributing to the spike in activity and increased values.

Are you seeing similar trends in your housing market? How has the second quarter activity in your local market affected home values? Are you in the market in Australia currently?

We welcome any and all questions, ideas, and responses in our comment section below.

Photo Courtesy of Michael McDonough’s Flickr