February Sees Capital Property Values Rise By 0.3%

Real estate values for capital cities rose by a combined 0.3 per cent in February, following a 1.2 per cent increase in January.

The latest RP Data-Rismark February Hedonic Home Value Index recorded the greatest jumps in value in Darwin and Melbourne, rising 2.3 per cent and 1.5 per cent respectively.

Much of the 0.3 per cent increase can be attributed to Melbourne, the report found, although other capitals that enjoyed rises were Sydney, Canberra and Darwin, which saw increases of 0.1 per cent, 1.9 per cent and 2.3 per cent respectively.

Rismark International managing director Ben Skilbeck explained that the current market is seeing buyers get off the fence and into the game.

He said: "Auction clearance rates of 70 per cent in Melbourne and 63 per cent in Sydney, combined with housing credit growth of 0.4 per cent in January, indicates that homebuyers are moving away from the sidelines and back into the market."

For quarterly rises, Hobart experienced the biggest growth of 4.2 per cent, well ahead of the next best performing centre, which was Canberra at 2.3 per cent.

Darwin was the standout performer year on year, with a 5.9 per cent increase over the last 12 months.