PROPERTY prices are continuing to rise throughout the country with the latest research revealing a 1.9 per cent increase during the June quarter.
The latest APM House Price Report revealed strong conditions remained in most capital cities.
Nationally the unit market chalked up a more impressive result with values up 2.5 per cent during the same period.
Sydney remained the standout capital city with its house prices up 3.1 per cent during the June quarter — the same increase as the previous quarter.
The report found the median house price in Sydney had reached a record high of $811,837.
The unit market also performed strongly in Sydney — up by 3.9 per cent.
Canberra was the next best performer in the housing market, with values up 2.2 per cent for the quarter.
It was followed by Melbourne where house values increased by 1.7 per cent, Brisbane which was up 1.5 per cent and Adelaide up 1.1 per cent.
Hobart house values increased by 0.8 per cent for the quarter, Perth went up by 0.2 per cent while Darwin was the only capital to experience a drop in house prices of 1.9 per cent.
In the unit market Sydney was the strongest performer followed closely by Adelaide where values increased by 3.6 per cent to bring the median up to $290,341.
Darwin had a strong showing in the unit market during the quarter with its value up by 2.1 per cent.
Unit values in Melbourne and Brisbane increased by less than 1 per cent, Perth saw no change in its values while Canberra unit values dropped by 0.8 per cent.
Hobart unit values went down by 1.3 per cent during the quarter.
APM senior economist Dr Andrew Wilson said in the report that Sydney, Melbourne and Perth had led the market during the past year, but despite that annual outcomes for those areas were still likely to be about half the “exceptional” results of 2013.
“Brisbane, Adelaide and Hobart are seeing confidence return to their local markets and are set to record stronger house price growth in 2014 compared to 2013,’’ he said.
Dr Wilson said in the report that Darwin and Canberra remained underperformers although Darwin’s strong economy and underlying shortage of housing was likely to reignite house prices sooner rather than later.
News resource: www.news.com.au