National home values slipped 0.3% last December from the previous month, according to the latest figures from
CoreLogic’s Hedonic Home Value Index. In particular, the drop was led by falls across Darwin, Melbourne, Perth, and Sydney.
Nationally, dwelling values were 4.2% higher over the 2017 calendar year which is a slower pace of growth compared to a year before (5.8%) and in 2015 (9.2%).
The results signify the sector’s transition toward weaker housing market conditions, said the data analytics firm. It expects the trend to continue throughout 2018.
“From a macro perspective, late 2016 marked a peak in the pace of capital gains across Australia with national dwelling values rising at the rolling quarterly pace of 3.7% over the three months to November,” said CoreLogic head of research
Tim Lawless.
“In 2017 we saw growth rates and transactional activity gradually lose steam, with national month-on-month capital gains slowing to 0% in October and November before turning negative in December,” he added.
The drop was largely driven by capital cities, with the weakest conditions found in Sydney and Darwin. Dwelling values in Sydeny were down 0.9% over the month. Its annual rate of growth is now tracking at just 3.1%; a stark difference to the recent cyclical peak when values were rising at the annual rate of 17.1% only seven months ago.
“Sydney’s housing market has become the most significant drag on the headline growth figures,” said Lawless.
In Darwin, the calendar year saw values down 6.5%. Since the 2014 peak, Darwin housing values have fallen by a cumulative 21.5%., according to CoreLogic.
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