Australia’s housing market continued to boom in May, with the national Home Value Index rising for the 16th consecutive month, increasing 0.8% to its highest point since October 2023, according to the Core Logic Home Value Index report.
In May, Australia’s median home value rose to a national average of A$785,600, with the top eight capital cities seeing higher prices at A$864,800, compared to A$626,900in rural areas.
Australia’s five largest capital cities all performed in terms of housing values heading into May. Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, Brisbane, and Adelaide were up 0.1%, 0.6%, 2%, 1.4%, 1.8%, and 1.8%, 7.4%, 22%, 16.3%, and 14.4% on the year-over-year side and year-on-year, respectively. Meanwhile, housing values in Hobart and Darwin were down 0.5%and 0.3% YoY, while Canberra was up 0.5% YoY.
Australia’s national housing rents rose by 0.7% in May from a year earlier, the lowest increase recorded this year. Core Logic noted a shortage of listings in areas where house prices have soared, such as Perth and Adelaide, where listings were down by more than 40%, and Brisbane, where they were down by more than 30%. New listings a reselling out quickly, driving up prices. Although the Australian rental market has cooled, the rate of decline is limited, and tenants are still under economic pressure, especially in May when rents rose by as much as 8.5% year-on-year.
To improve the current real estate market and rental market in Australia, the following initiatives could be considered:
To increase housing supply and reduce project development time, Australia should accelerate the land approval and building permit processes. At the same time, it shouldstrengthen the data monitoring and early warning mechanism, pay close attention to market dynamics, and release relevant data reports to provide reference for policy formulation. In addition, attracting international capital and technology to the real estate market by strengthening international cooperation will help promote the healthy development of the market.
Through these initiatives, Australia’s housing and rental markets will improve, as will the lives of residents.
