Home prices ended 2022 with a fall, marking nine consecutive months of price declines.
PropTrack’s Home Price Index for December 2022 showed a 0.21% monthly and 2.29% annual declines. These have brought home prices 4.25% below their peak.
On a monthly basis, capital cities reported a fall of 0.22% while regional areas posted a smaller decline of 0.17%.
Looking at the difference year-on-year, regional areas witnessed a 2.08% gain in home prices versus the almost 4% fall in capital cities.
Despite the declines, home prices across Australia remain 29% higher than the pre-pandemic levels.
Here are the highlights of PropTrack’s latest index:
Capital city highlights:
- Largest monthly decline: Melbourne at 0.34%
- Largest annual decline: Sydney at 6.99%
- Steepest decline from peak: Sydney at 7.23%
Regional area highlights:
- Largest monthly decline: Queensland at 0.33%
- Largest annual decline: Victoria at 0.02%
- Steepest decline from peak: New South Wales at 2.90%
PropTrack economist Anne Flaherty said rising interest rates were the primary driver of price declines in 2022.
“Interest rates increased for the eighth consecutive month in December, placing further strain on borrowers,” she said.
Ms Flaherty said the borrowing power of an average buyer has been reduced by roughly a quarter due to the cumulative impact of these rate increases.
“While interest rates are likely to be approaching their peak, the Reserve Bank has signalled the potential for more increases in 2023 — higher interest rates would further erode borrowing capacities and drive prices lower.”
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Photo by Tourism Australia on Canva.
Collections: Mortgage News
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