Property prices have cooled to their slowest annual growth in three years, figures from a national property lobby have revealed.
According to the latest Real Estate Institute of Australia (REIA) Real Estate Market Facts publication, property prices decreased in the first three months of the year, resulting in the slowest annual growth. Over the quarter, the weighted average capital city median house price decreased by 1.3% while the figure for other dwellings went down by 1.1%.
“Moderate increases in the median house price in Melbourne and Adelaide were outweighed by deceases in the other capital cities. For other dwellings, Darwin was the only capital city to record an increase over the quarter,” REIA president Neville Sanders said.
Sanders said the quarterly decline in prices can in part be attributed to the influence of macro prudential measures on the housing market to curb investor activity.
“The median house price in Sydney, the strongest market in recent years, slipped back to just under the $1 million mark. Hobart remains the lowest prices across the capital cities,” Sanders said.
“Vacancy rate data shows that Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Darwin have either balanced or oversupplied rental markets.”
Sanders said he hopes the Federal Election does not bring changes to negative gearing.
“In the current public debate on negative gearing it is worth noting that the presence of investor activity has had a positive impact on the level of rents with the March quarter CPI figures released at the end of April providing evidence that the current taxation arrangements keep rents lower than they would otherwise be.
“Taxation arrangements for housing and their impact are key issues in the upcoming Federal election and REIA hopes the debate will be based on rational thinking and not perpetuating myths that simply do not hold up to analysis.”
