Downturn in the national capital had persisted longer than in other capital cities
After a turbulent close to 2023, Canberra’s property market has been showing signs of recovery with a modest increase in house prices, according to the latest Domain House Price Report.
The report highlights a 0.9% rise in the capital’s median house price to $1,049,719 during the March quarter.
This increase marks a year-on-year growth of 1.1%, positioning annual house price gains in positive territory for the first time in 18 months, although prices remain roughly $127,000 below the peak of June 2022.
Nicola Powell (pictured), Domain’s chief of research and economics, noted that the downturn in Canberra had persisted longer than in other capital cities.
“We’re only just starting to see house prices rise in Canberra, but before that, they were really sluggish,” Powell said. “The number of homes for sale hit a four-year high in February, although we’ve started to see supply shrink again.
“Overall, supply has been better, which I think is why it has taken longer for Canberra house prices to find that price trough and move into recovery mode.”
Powell also pointed to migration and supply dynamics as influencing factors.
“The ACT is losing more people to other states and territories than it is receiving, which means net interstate migration is negative and that can weigh on housing demand in a negative way,” she said. “We’re not seeing the demand coming interstate that we’ve historically tended to see, particularly when prices were rising during that pandemic boom.
“We have frecast house prices to rise this year between 3 and 5% but it’s going to be a slow and steady recovery for Canberra.”
Read more: Suburbs around Canberra attracting first-home buyers
Meanwhile, other major cities like Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, and Perth have seen record highs in property prices, driven by a mix of chronic undersupply, strong population growth, and rising construction costs amid ongoing cost-of-living and high interest rate challenges.
Despite these increases, Powell suggests that growth is decelerating due to a growing inventory of available homes, although a potential rate cut could stimulate the market further.
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