News media continues to misreport price data. Many of the headlines following the 1 April release of the monthly CoreLogic figures have depicted falling prices, but 13 of the 15 market jurisdictions (eight capital cities and seven state regional markets) recorded growth in house prices in March. Apartments are also doing well, with all jurisdictions up in March except Sydney.
The media focus has been on the Sydney (down 0.1%) and Melbourne (down 0.2%) house markets, but the standout results for me are Queensland and South Australia. Brisbane, Regional Queensland, Adelaide and Regional South Australia all increased their house prices by 2% or more during March, with Brisbane producing boom-level growth despite the floods.
In the March Quarter all 15 major jurisdictions recorded price uplift, including nine which grew 3% or more, headed by the Queensland and South Australian markets which rose by 6% or more. Others to do well included Regional NSW (5.3%), Regional Tasmania (4.9%), Hobart (3.2%) and Regional Victoria (3.7%).
The overall message is that the property boom is very much alive in most markets across Australia, with regional markets and the smaller capital cities excelling.
