When will the property boom slow down? Property prices see highest monthly gains in 32 years

There's no slowing down property prices all across the nation, with data house CoreLogic reporting prices nationally jumped 2.8 per cent over March, the highest increase since October 1988.

It was also the first time in 12 months that capital city values outpaced the regional markets, music to the ears of the departed investor market who will be monitoring price levels.

CoreLogic's head of research Tim Lawless says they expect housing values to continue to rise throughout 2021 and well in to next year, but it is reasonable to expect the pace of growth will slow.

Sydney led the way over March, with dwelling values jumping 3.7 per cent to be 6.7 per cent up over the quarter. The last time Sydney posted such strong quarterly gains was in June/July 2015, before a rapid slow in growth when limits on investors kicked in to slow the market, which isn't a stumbling block in the current property climate.

The Harbour City was only bettered by Hobart's strong 7.6 per cent quarterly gains after dwelling growth of 3.3 per cent over March.

Canberra saw the third best dwelling value growth across the capitals, up 2.8 per cent, followed by Melbourne and Brisbane who both saw 2.4 per cent gains. Darwin posted 2.3 per cent growth.

Adelaide (+1.5 per cent) and Perth (+1.8 per cent), trailed the pack.

"As the housing market hits record high values, speculation is mounting as to what will trigger the next downswing phase of the cycle", Lawless says.

"The upswing in buyer demand has not been met with the same level of increase in inventory," Lawless says.

"This has resulted in strong selling conditions, amidst a palpable sense of urgency amongst buyers, putting upwards pressure on housing prices."

Lawless suggested the substantially less fiscal support will likely contribute to a tapering of demand, as will the prospect of tighter credit policies, however APRA says lending standards remain healthy enough to keep any credit intervention at bay for now.

Houses v Units

Houses continued to outstrip units for price growth in most capitals, however units are now steadily back on the upswing.

“Despite the underperformance, unit markets have turned a corner, with Sydney recording two consecutive months of rising values, while the Melbourne unit market has seen values consistently rising since October last year, with the trend accelerating over recent months," Lawless says.

Sydney houses jumped 4.3 per cent over March to be 8.2 per cent higher over the first quarter of the year. Units still saw strong growth, up 2.1 per cent over March to be 3.2 per cent up over the quarter.

Melbourne units were close behind, posting 1.7 per cent gains over March and three per cent over the quarter. Houses were up 2.6 per cent in March and 5.6 per cent over the quarter.

The only areas where units outperformed houses was in Hobart and Darwin. Hobart units were up 4.9 per cent, the best performance of any market across March, while houses rose three per cent.