Sydney house prices hit $1m for first time
Sydney Harbour Photo: Wikimedia Commons
Sydney's house prices have risen to a median of over $1 million for the first time, as the city's property market continues to boom.
Sydney has long led the national property market performance, with the median house price
Sydney’s remarkable June quarter performance was unsurprisingly ahead of all the other capitals, with the median house price increasing by an astonishing 8.4 per cent in the June quarter to $1,000,616, according to Domain.com.au data. Sydney unit prices also surged over the quarter by 6.6 per cent to $656,078 — again the strongest local growth rate of the modern era.
Sydney’s median house price has increased by 22.9 per cent over the 2014-15 financial year, double the national median house price growth of 11.7 per cent and one of the highest annual growth rates ever recorded by the city, notes Domain Senior Economist Dr Andrew Wilson.
"It’s a result that is now exceeding the boom time results of 2001 and 2002," he comments.
"The main catalyst has been low mortgage rates — the lowest since the mid 1960s. It’s a perfect storm of local supply and demand factors generating the price growth. A strong local economy, coupled with high levels of migration and a chronic undersupply of housing and record levels of investor activity have also been a significant contributor."
The Melbourne housing market continued its strong revival over the June quarter recording an increase of 3.5 per cent in the median house price to set a new record at $668,030. The Brisbane housing market, while positive, continued to produce results slightly below the predicted price growth for 2015. The median house price increased by just 0.6 per cent over the June quarter to $490,855.
The Domain.com.au report also reveals a modest increase in the Adelaide housing market – median house prices increased by just 0.2 per cent to $479,285 - and a slight fall of 0.9 per cent in Perth prices to $605,089.
The star of the show, though, is Sydney, which has become an established investor favourite on the international real estate stage. The city's median house price has now surpassed that of London and is fast approaching New York. although it remains behind the property prices of Paris.
"Sydney’s strong growth is expected to continue for the foreseeable future," adds Wilson, "while solid buyer activity and interest is expected to continue to drive steady growth in the Melbourne and Canberra markets."