Capital city property prices rise
Residential property in Australia's capital cities is showing signs of a housing market revival, according to the latest results from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
The ABS figures released yesterday (August 1), revealed that in the June quarter capital city property prices climbed for the second successive month.
Results for the second quarter showed that house prices in the New South Wales capital rose by 1.2 per cent, while Melbourne enjoyed an increase of 1.4 per cent.
It wasn't all good for capital city investment property owners however - prices fell in Perth by 0.5 per cent, 2.5 per cent in Adelaide and 0.4 per cent in Brisbane.
Housing Industry Association senior economist Andrew Harvey said while the figures were still down on the same period last year, there was an indication of housing growth in the biggest markets across the country.
He commented: "The ABS established house price series reveals that in the three months to June, prices rose in five of Australia's capital cities, and on average prices were up by 0.5 per cent nationally.
"The fundamentals of Australia's housing market remain very strong - rents continue to grow at a rate well above headline inflation, rental vacancy rates are tight, and Australia's unemployment rate remains the envy of the developed world."
Some experts have said the Reserve Bank's decision to cut the interest rate four times since last November is responsible for the positive market results for the last quarter.
