Residential property prices reached their strongest annual growth on record last year, rising 23.7% in the last 12 months.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics residential property prices index report, which began reporting in 2003, the total value of the nation’s 10.8m homes grew by $2tn to a record $9.9tn last year.
Australia’s property market has seen astronomical growth, spurred by record-low interest rates and government stimulus.
Each capital city recorded price surges, with Hobart (+29.8%), Canberra (+28.8%), Brisbane (+27.8%), Sydney (+26.7%), and Adelaide (+23.9%) all showing the largest annual rises.
Melbourne (+20.0%) had the largest annual rise since the June quarter of 2010 while Perth rose 15.7% and Darwin rose 13.0% through the year.
The rise means real estate value in Australia has now reached $9.9tn, with the mean price of residential dwellings going up a further $44,000 to hit $920,100 across the country.
It comes just weeks after a report from the National Housing Finance and Investment Corp revealed the average first homebuyer is locked out of 70% of the housing market.
First homebuyers now need nine years to save a deposit compared to four years in the 1990s, the report found.
The ABS head of prices statistics, Michelle Marquardt, said the data showed house price growth continued to outpace price growth for attached dwellings.
“House prices rose 27.5% through the year, while prices of attached dwellings rose 14.0%,” Marquardt said.
In the December quarter 2021, residential property prices rose 4.7%. The strongest quarterly price growth was recorded in Brisbane (+9.6%), followed by Adelaide (+6.8%), Hobart (+6.5%), and Canberra (+6.4%).
“Results were consistent with a range of housing market indicators,” Marquardt said.
“New lending commitments for housing rose to a record high value in the December quarter 2021. Days on market fell and sales transaction volumes increased. Record low interest rates and strong demand have continued to support growth in property prices.”
The mean price of residential dwellings in Australia was $920,100, up from $876,100 in the September quarter 2021.
The mean price of residential dwellings in New South Wales rose by $47,700 to $1,207,200 and was the highest in the country.
The second highest mean price was in the Australian Capital Territory ($979,600), followed by Victoria ($956,100). The lowest mean price ($489,000) was in the Northern Territory.
In response to high prices, the government has been holding an inquiry into housing affordability and supply, which is expected to release its findings this year.
The price growth is creating a housing crisis with many Australians locked out of the property market and others staring down a multimillion loan that will last them their lifetimes.
Last year the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) assistant governor, Luci Ellis, admitted it was very difficult for people to enter the housing market if their parents didn’t already own a home.
“Some people will find it easier to buy a home than others based on the socioeconomic position they were born into,” she said.
