Australian home prices rose slightly during the first month of this year amid a historically sluggish mid-summer period, as overall growth continues to show the booming market is cooling.
House prices were up 1.1 per cent in January, compared with one per cent a month earlier, as the most-populous cities, Sydney and Melbourne, were outpaced by smaller rivals and regional markets, according to a report from CoreLogic Inc. Tuesday.
"Values are still broadly rising, but nowhere near as fast as they were in early 2021," Tim Lawless, research director at CoreLogic, said in the report. Shrinking government stimulus, worsening affordability, rising fixed term mortgage rates and a tightening in credit conditions were among factors contributing to the slowdown in growth, he said.
Cooling boom
Trading in January was 15 per cent higher than a year earlier, but the month still represents a seasonal low and the trend will become clearer once activity picks up, he said.
In the 12 months to January, Australia's booming property market posted 22.4 per cent growth -- the highest annual rate of growth since June 1989. The typical Australian home is now worth A$131,236 (US$92,745) more than it was a year ago, according to the data. Brisbane, the capital of Queensland state, posted the highest annual growth rate among the capital cities, with housing values up 29.2 per cent.
The median house price in Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra is now more than A$1.1 million, the data show. - Bloomberg