Hunter house prices rose 5 per cent in the 2023-24 financial year and are almost back to the record highs achieved before interest rates started to climb in 2022.
The latest figures from property analysts CoreLogic show the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie median dwelling value rose 0.5 per cent in June for an annual increase of 5.1 per cent.
House and apartment prices were both up 5.1 per cent in the year.
In the rest of the Hunter region, the median dwelling price was up 0.6 per cent in June and 4.5 per cent across the year, though apartment values dropped a hefty 5 per cent in 2023-24 after a 1.5 per cent decline in June.
The median Newcastle and Lake Macquarie house price is now $930,000, $10,000 below the 2022 peak.
The typical Newcastle house has added $45,000 in value over the past 12 months.
The median apartment value in the two local government areas is $680,000.
The typical house price in the rest of the Hunter is more than $200,000 below the Newcastle median value at $716,000.
The 5 per cent annual rise in property values is below the national 2023-24 increase of 8 per cent, which compares with a 2 per cent fall in the previous financial year.
CoreLogic research director Tim Lawless said the Australian property market had "found a groove", rising between 0.5 and 0.8 per cent month on month since February.
"The persistent growth comes despite an array of downside risks, including high rates, cost of living pressures, affordability challenges and tight credit policy," he said.
"The housing market resilience comes back to tight supply levels, which are keeping upwards pressure on values."
Melbourne and regional Victoria were the exceptions, dropping 0.2 per cent and 0.3 per cent respectively in June.
The mid-sized capital cities experienced strong gains over the year.
Values surged 23.6 per cent in Perth, 15.4 per cent in Adelaide and 15.8 per cent in Brisbane.
"We can loosely categorise housing supply into advertised listings, which provide a measure of available supply, newly built homes and rental supply," Mr Lawless said.
"We could also add social housing to the list.
"Each of these components remain insufficient to varying degrees to cater for housing demand, which is why we are seeing values persistently rising at a time when interest rates and inflationary pressures are high, sentiment is deeply pessimistic and credit policy is tight."
The price rises in the Hunter were well below the 11.8 per cent annual increase in the median house price across regional Australia but more in keeping with Sydney's more modest 6.3 per cent gain.
The sharp rise in apartment rents eased somewhat in 2023-24, especially in Sydney, where rents increased 7 per cent, 10 points below the 17 per cent surge in 2022-23.
But growth in rental prices remains well above average at 8 per cent across Australia in 2023-24.
