Perth’s house prices jumped by 0.5 per cent in the month of November, leading the first seasonally-adjusted increase in capital city house prices since December 2010.
RP Data-Rismark announced that in seasonally-adjusted terms, Australia’s capital city home values rose by 0.1 per cent in November.
Regional house values (about 40 per cent of all houses by number) recorded a 0.3 per cent rise in November, which was also the biggest increase since December 2010.
Rismark director Christopher Joye, said “this was the single best monthly result since December 2010, and augurs well for housing activity during the first quarter of 2012, which we project will rebound solidly”.
“The best proxy for housing demand—the number of new home loans approved for purchasing established properties—has risen robustly every month since its nadir in March," he said.
Dwelling prices were strongest in Perth (up 0.5 per cent) followed by Canberra (up 0.4 per cent) and Melbourne (up 0.2 per cent). Dwelling prices were unchanged in Sydney but fell in Darwin (-0.9 per cent), Brisbane (-0.7 per cent), and Adelaide (-0.3 per cent).
On an annual basis, home prices were lower across all capital cities. Prices fell most in Brisbane (down 7.0 per cent), followed by Melbourne (down 5.6 per cent), Adelaide (down 5.0 per cent), Perth (down 3.9 per cent), Darwin (down 3.7 per cent), Canberra (down 1.6 per cent) and Sydney (down 0.5 per cent).
CommSec chief economists Craig James said the Reserve Bank’s two interest rate cuts appear to be having a positive impact.
“The rate cuts will serve to lift demand for homes and drive property prices higher over 2012. CommSec expects Australian property prices to grow around 5 per cent in 2012, but as always there will be major deviations from city to city and across regional areas.”