House prices are still rising but there are signs of a slowing in the market.Credit:Penny Stephens
Sydney’s median house price increased to $1,147,352 in April,up from $1,112,671 in March,while Melbourne’s median house price surged to $869,676 from $859,097 over the same period. This time last year Sydney’s median house price was $1,026,418 and Melbourne’s was $818,806.
The rapid rise in property prices has prompted warnings about housing affordability from economists and MPs. Last week,federal Housing Minister Michael Sukkar said thestate governments needed their “feet held to the fire” to address rising house prices and it was not up to the Commonwealth to fix the issue although he acknowledged it was a problem.
The slowing growth rate may help relieve some of these concerns. The latest data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows first home buyer borrowing activity has started to decline.
CoreLogic research director Tim Lawless is expecting the slowdown to continue.
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“The slowdown in housing value appreciation is unsurprising given the rapid rate of growth seen over the past six months,especially in the context of subdued wages growth,” Mr Lawless said. “With housing prices rising faster than incomes,it’s likely price sensitive sectors of the market,such as first home buyers and lower income households,are finding it harder to save for a deposit and transactional costs.”
Sydney house prices increased 2.8 per cent over April,while apartment prices edged 1.3 per cent higher. Melbourne house and apartment prices increased 1.4 per cent and 1 per cent respectively.