No house price growth in 2016: Analyst

Perth dwelling values took a surprise positive turn in the last month of 2015, but a property analyst predicts growth in the local housing market is still at least a year away.

Perth home values rose 2.3 per cent in December last year to a median of $510,000 according to CoreLogic RP Data, but the index was still 3.7 per cent lower year-on-year.

Perth recorded the largest fall out of all Australian capital cities in 2015.

“The largest losses have occurred in Perth where the average dwelling is now worth approximately $19,970 less than it was 12 months ago, while Darwin homeowners have seen the value of their home shrink by a similar $18,150,” CoreLogic head of research Tim Lawless said.

“The annual decline has been milder in Adelaide and Hobart, however dwelling values are still $515 lower in Adelaide over the year and down $2,430 in Hobart.”

The data also found that rental rates were falling at a faster pace than dwelling values in Perth and Darwin, with the gross rate of return in Perth at just 0.2 per cent.

Looking ahead into this year, CoreLogic said the regions of Australia that were likely to underperform were associated with a higher degree of economic uncertainty.

“The Perth housing market peaked in late 2014 and both home values and rental rates have fallen over the past year,” the market analyst said in a statement.

“The rate of decline may start to ease in Perth, however growth prospects are likely to be at least a year away.”

Dwelling values were flat across the combined capitals during December, with negative movements in Sydney, Adelaide and Canberra.

The 2015 calendar year results revealed a 7.8 per cent increase in capital city dwelling values, representing the lowest rate of capital gain over a calendar year since 2012.