Housing market conditions closed out 2018 weaker in patches, according to the CoreLogic home value index for December.
Nationally, dwelling values fell 1.1 per cent in December, ranging from falls of 1.8 per cent in Sydney and Darwin, through to a 0.4 per cent rise across regional Tasmania.
Adelaide was the only other capital city with a rise in values, of 0.2 per cent. Elsewhere, falls were recorded in Melbourne (down 1.5 per cent), Perth (1.0 per cent) and Brisbane (0.2 per cent). Canberra values saw no change.
Over 2018, four of the eight capital cities recorded a decline in dwelling values, led by Sydney (-8.9 per cent) and Melbourne (-7.0 per cent), while values were also lower across Perth (-4.7 per cent) and Darwin (-1.5 per cent). The remaining capital cities recorded a rise in values, although conditions weren’t as strong as in 2017 with every capital city recording a weakening in the pace of growth or an acceleration in the rate of decline over the year.
According to CoreLogic head of research Tim Lawless, most regions around the country have reacted to tighter credit conditions by recording weaker housing market results relative to 2017.
“The two exceptions were regional Tasmania, where the pace of capital gains was higher relative to 2017 resulting in a nation leading 9.9 per cent gain in values over the 2018 calendar year, and Darwin, where the annual rate of decline improved from -8.9 per cent in 2017 to -1.5 per cent in 2018”, he said.
“Although Sydney and Melbourne recorded the weakest conditions, the peak to current declines are much less severe compared with Perth and Darwin, where values have been falling since mid-2014”, he added.
Sydney values are now 11.1 per cent lower relative to the July 2017 peak and Melbourne values are down 7.2 per cent since peaking in November 2017. The downturn has been running much longer in Perth and Darwin, resulting in cumulative falls of 15.6 per cent and 24.5 per cent respectively.
At the end of 2018, Sydney values were back to where they were in August 2016, while Melbourne values were back to February 2017 levels. Perth values are back to levels last seen in March 2009 and Darwin dwelling values are at October 2007 levels.