According to reports, CoreLogic, an Australian property analysis company, recently released a report analyzing the state of the Australian real estate market in 2016 from the perspectives of housing prices, rental increases, and investor returns. Overall, the Australian real estate market experienced an upward trend in 2016. Predictions suggest that the development of the Australian real estate market in 2017 may continue the trend observed this year.
From the perspective of price increases, Windsor in Melbourne, Victoria, has become one of the biggest winners, with a median price increase of 47% for detached houses; the performance of apartments in New South Wales' Hunters Hill was also impressive, with a median price surge of 45.8%.
In 2016, the districts with the most favorable performance in the Australian real estate market were not limited to capital cities. The district with the highest investment return rate this year was Rosebery in Tasmania, with a rental yield of 9.3%; Woree in Cairns followed closely with a return rate of 8.7%. The median weekly rent for apartments in Dawes Point, Sydney, was the highest in Australia, reaching AUD 1,775. The highest asking price for weekly rent for detached houses was in Tamarama, Sydney, at AUD 1,725.
The district with the highest total sales value in the Australian real estate market in 2016 was also in Sydney, with Mosman achieving a total sales value of AUD 1,047,292,200 for detached houses. The highest total sales value for apartments was in Melbourne, amounting to AUD 739,769,597.
Tim Lawless, the research director at CoreLogic, stated that the report aptly demonstrates the complexity of the Australian real estate market, both in capital cities and across regions and property types. He noted that the pace of development in the Australian real estate market varies significantly; Perth and Darwin have slightly regressed to 2014 levels, while Sydney and Melbourne have seen continuous price increases for five years, yielding substantial capital gains, although rental returns are gradually declining.
Lawless pointed out that the development of the Australian real estate market in the second half of 2016 was not adversely affected by low rental return rates and investment rates; rather, it exhibited a certain degree of growth, particularly stimulated by two interest rate cuts in May and August. He predicts that the development of the Australian real estate market in 2017 will not differ significantly from that of 2016.
According to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, in the quarter of September 2016, the growth of Australian housing prices was slow, at only 1.5%. In the quarter of June, Australian housing prices had increased by 2%. For the entire year of 2016, the Australian housing price index grew by 3.5%. In the previous quarter, Sydney's housing prices increased by 2.9%; Perth and Darwin were the only two major cities in the country where housing prices declined. However, CoreLogic's figures show that Australian housing prices increased by 7.5% in October and by 9.3% in November.