Are australian property prices starting to moderate?

The latest update to the ABS Residential Property Price Indexes shows that price growth moderated somewhat in the June 2014 quarter, said the Housing Industry Association (HIA), the voice of Australia’s residential building industry.

“Capital city residential property prices grew by 1.7 per cent during the June 2014 quarter,” said HIA Economist, Diwa Hopkins.

“While this pace was slightly faster than in the March quarter, this growth is more modest compared with what occurred during mid to late 2013. During that period, residential property prices were increasing between 2 and 4 per cent per quarter.”

“While it’s too early to call a trend, the signs are mounting that price growth is easing back to a more sustainable pace. Annual growth reached what looks to be a cyclical peak rate of 10.9 per cent in the March 2014 quarter. This rate eased back to 10.1 per cent per annum in the June quarter.”