Australian properties still rising in price.

CoreLogic's national Home Value Index (HVI) rose 0.6% in March, on par with February’s increase, taking the current upswing in housing values through its 14th straight month of growth.

Since declining -7.5% between April 2022 and January 2023, the national HVI has increased 10.2%, or, in dollar terms, by approximately $71,832, rising to new record highs each month since November last year.

Every capital city except Darwin (-0.2%) recorded a rise in dwelling values over the month, although CoreLogic's research director, Tim Lawless, notes the monthly gains continue to be punctuated by diversity.

“At one end of the scale we have Perth’s housing market where values were up 1.9% over the month, followed by Adelaide and Brisbane with 1.4% and 1.1% growth. The remaining capitals are showing much lower rates of change, although Melbourne is the only capital city to record a negative quarterly movement, down -0.2% over the first three months of the year.”

Which is best, Houses or Units?

Houses continued to deliver higher rates of profit-making sales compared to units, with 97.0% of house resales making a nominal gain, compared to 88.2% of units. However, Ms Owen said the gap in profitability between houses and units narrowed slightly, indicating a potential shift in market dynamics including affordability along with supply constraints.

“Underlying land value, scarcity factor and desire for more space through the pandemic has led to a substantially larger rise in house values relative to unit values over the past four years,” she said.

“The relatively large premium on house values has put them out of reach for many, particularly first home buyers and lower-income households. As units become increasingly attractive to buyers, the price gap between detached housing and medium to high density options will close and profitability of units will improve.”

Source: Corlogic.