The CoreLogic December home value index results show a wide variance of market performance across the country, ranging from an 8.9 per cent fall in Sydney values through to a 9.9 per cent rise in values across regional Tasmania.
Most regions of Australia recorded a weaker housing market performance in 2018 relative to 2017. Four of the eight capital cities recorded a decline in dwelling values over the calendar year led by Sydney (8.9 per cent) and Melbourne (7.0 per cent), while values were also lower across Perth (4.7 per cent) and Darwin (1.5 per cent).
The remaining capital cities recorded a rise in values, although conditions weren’t as strong as 2017 with every capital city recording a weakening in the pace of growth or an acceleration in the rate of decline over the year.
According to CoreLogic head of research Tim Lawless, the broad weakening in housing market conditions in 2018 highlights that this slowdown goes well beyond the correction in Sydney and Melbourne.
“Although Australia’s two largest cities are the primary drivers for the weaker national reading, most regions around the country have reacted to tighter credit conditions by recording weaker housing market results relative to 2017,” he said,
“The two exceptions were regional Tasmania, where the pace of capital gains was higher relative to 2017 resulting in a nation leading 9.9 per cent gain in values over the 2018 calendar year, and Darwin, where the annual rate of decline improved from -8.9 per cent in 2017 to -1.5 per cent in 2018.”
