Falls in values have ranged from -2% in Brisbane to -0.2% in Perth when it comes to dwellings. Regional values fell -1.7% in New South Wales, -1.4% in Victoria and -1.3% in Queensland.
It must be noted that the rate of decline have varied with the pace of falls easing in the past 2 months across Sydney and 3 months across Melbourne. Brisbane has seen a quicker decline compared to any capital city or rest-of-state region.
At this point, it must be noted that the worst of the decline has ceased. Borrowers have been facing multiple interest rate hikes along with a persistent high inflation and this will continue to put further pressure on households. The housing downturn has remained steady, at least in the context of the previous significant rise in values. Aspects such as the below-average supply of new listings, tight labour market conditions, the accrual of borrower savings and a larger than normal cohort of fixed interest rate borrowers has so far insulated them from the rise in interest rates.
It must be noted that despite the declines in housing values, most broad regions are still well above pre-COVID levels.
Property values have fallen -6.5% at a combined capital city level with Sydney down -10.2% since peaking at a 27.7% rise in January and Melbourne down -6.4% following a 17.3% rise in February.
Unit values have seen a lower rate of fall when compared with House values with the capital city house values down -1.2% in October compared with a -0.7% fall for units. During the peak, housing values increased 29.9% whereas unit values increased 13.2%.
New listings have started to trend higher in October, however it must be noted that the numbers compared to the traditional spring selling seasons remain at levels well below 2021 as well as the previous 5-year average. When looking at demand, the estimated number of home sales have held relatively firm over September and October.
When it comes to the rental markets, rents rose 0.6% in October with a 1.1% rise in unit rents and 0.5% in house rents. There is a demand for medium to high density styles of accommodation which can be attributed to the demand favouring affordable options such as units as well as the increased demand from overseas migrants who tend to favour inner city rentals in Melbourne and Sydney. Sydney and Melbourne have recorded an increase of 13.4% and 13.6% respectively over the last 12 months. Broadly speaking, the rate of rental growth has been slowing with the quarterly rate of rental growth dropping from 3% in the 3 months to May 2022 to 2.1% over the most recent 3-month period.