Sydney house prices down 6.5 percent, double Melbourne's drop: Domain

Moves by banks and their regulators to curb investor lending, combined with a drop in overseas buyers, has seen national capital city house prices decrease 2.9 per cent over the year to $781,787, according to the latest Domain Home Price Report.

 

The report found unit prices have fallen by 1.4 per cent over the year to $549,163.

 

Over the quarter, houses in Hobart and units in Adelaide have been the only market segments to buck the national downward trend.

Domain senior research analyst, Dr Nicola Powell said "it’s a development that will no doubt be welcomed by Australia’s first-home buyers - property prices across almost all capitals continue to fall.

 

"In many markets throughout Australia, gaining entry has become a greater possibility."

 

Key findings concerning houses were that Sydney house prices are now at late-2016 levels, while Melbourne house prices haven't fallen as far and are now at 2017 levels.

 

Canberra house prices increased over the year but were flat over the quarter, similarly Brisbane and Adelaide were also up over the year, but down slightly over the quarter.

 

Hobart was the standout and continued to grow strongly, recording double-digit annual growth.

 

Key findings concerning units were that units in Sydney and Melbourne continued to outperform houses, while in all other capital cities houses outperformed units.

 

Unit prices fell over the September quarter and year across all capital cities, apart from a minor quarterly improvement in Adelaide, and annual growth in Melbourne and Hobart. As a result all capital cities are now under performing relative to last year, except for Perth and Darwin.

 

National unit prices have continued to weaken, with annual growth declining for two consecutive quarters.

 

“There are opportunities for buyers in all property cycles — the key is to be ready when opportunities arise,” Dr Nicola Powell concluded.