It\u2019s all about the great Aussie home here at Stockhead on Friday.<\/p>\n
And the really terrific news for lovers of expensive housing is that across this wide brown rip-off of a nation, the acceleration in home prices over last month just clocked a six-month high.<\/p>\n
According to CoreLogic, national housing values posted a broad-based rise\u00a0 of 0.6% as per February\u2019s Home Value Index.<\/p>\n
The 20 basis point acceleration from the 0.4% increase seen in January was the strongest monthly gain since October last year.<\/p>\n
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Literally: houses and flats and such all got more expensive in each of the nation\u2019s capital cities and in every single rest-of-state region everywhere that CoreLogic does it\u2019s work.<\/p>\n
Everyone recorded a lift in values over the month.<\/p>\n
Everyone except in a tiny corner of Tasmania, where one small village of indomitable Gauls and Tasmanians hold out against the almighty, all-conquering Romans and rising house prices\u2026 .<\/p>\n
And by that of course, I mean in Hobart.<\/p>\n
In Hobart they\u2019re giving houses away. Or at least, the market fell -0.3% last month.<\/p>\n
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\u201cHousing values have been more than resilient in the face of high interest rates and cost of living pressures,\u201d CoreLogic\u2019s research director, Tim Lawless, said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe ongoing rise in housing values reflects a persistent imbalance between supply and demand which varies in magnitude across our cities and regions.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Perth continues to stand out with a substantially higher rate of growth compared to any other region, up 1.8% over the month.<\/p>\n
Adelaide (+1.1%), Brisbane (+0.9%) and the regional areas of SA (+1.1%), WA and Queensland (both +1.0%) also show a consistently high rate of capital growth month-to-month.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese regions are generally benefiting from a combination of comparatively lower housing prices and positive demographic factors that continue to support housing demand,\u201d Mr Lawless said.<\/p>\n
Although property values in Sydney and Melbourne have leveled out, the monthly trend has accelerated, with Melbourne emerging from a three-month slump of negative monthly movements to record a wee, subtle 0.1% rise in February.<\/p>\n
Similarly, Sydney dwelling values have moved back into positive territory over the past two months after recording a subtle decline in November and December.<\/p>\n
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\u201cPotentially we are seeing some early signs of a boost to housing confidence as inflation eases and expectations for a rate cut, or cuts, later this year firm up,\u201d Tim says.<\/p>\n\n
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The re-acceleration in value growth has been accompanied by a bounce back in auction clearance rates, which averaged in the high 60% range through February. Consumer sentiment also recorded a solid rise in February, suggesting a lift in confidence, although honestly \u2013 measures of sentiment seem pretty suspect to this very casual observer.<\/p>\n
There are 2,650 homes scheduled for auction across the combined capital cities this week, down -7.1% on last week which was the busiest auction week of the year to date (2,853). This time last year, 2,054 auctions were held.<\/p>\n\n
Lawless says auction results and sentiment have both shown a historically strong relationship with housing trends.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe rise in clearance rates from the mid 50% range late last year to the high 60% range in February points to a better fit between buyer and seller pricing expectations. A rise in sentiment suggests households will have a better ability to make decisions around large financial commitments, like a property purchase.\u201d<\/p>\n\n
There are 951 auctions scheduled in Sydney this week, down -3.4% on last week (984), although 21.6% higher than this week last year (782).<\/p>\n
In Melbourne, there\u2019ll be 1,300 homes set for auction this week, down -10.8% on the last (1,457), while up 40.2% on this week last year (927).<\/p>\n
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Across the smaller capitals, Brisbane is once again set to host the most auctions (148), down from 168 last week, followed closely by Adelaide (136), down from 145 last week.<\/p>\n
In Canberra, 105 auctions are set to take place this week, up from 90 last week. Eight auctions are scheduled in Perth this week, compared to seven last week.<\/p>\n
There are two homes scheduled for auction in Tasmania, in line with the previous week, which was equally crap.<\/p>\n
Next week there\u2019s public holiday long weekends across four of the eight states and territories and Tim says that means we\u2019ll see a significant drop in overall auction volumes.<\/p>\n
Early numbers indicate just over 1,700 homes will be taken to auction across the combined capitals next week.<\/p>\n
Although the pace of gains has shown some uplift, most regions are still recording value growth well below the highs of last year when the national index rose 1.3% in May.<\/p>\n\n
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\u201cLast years\u2019 rate hikes clearly dented capital gains, but higher interest rates haven\u2019t been enough to extinguish growth entirely,\u201d Mr Lawless said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe shortfall of housing supply relative to housing demand is continuing to place upwards pressure on home values across most regions.<\/p>\n
\u201cHowever, it\u2019s hard to see a significant rebound in values shaping up given downside factors. Affordability constraints, rising unemployment, a slowdown in the rate of household savings and a cautious lending environment, are all factors likely to keep a lid on value growth over the near term.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/span><\/p>\n The post Can\u2019t touch this: Rate hikes mean nothing to booming house prices<\/a> appeared first on Stockhead<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"