Rents rise 0.6pc; property prices at new high

Housing prices up in March

Housing prices rose 0.4 per cent in March, according to CoreLogic, with only Hobart in negative territory of the 8 capital cities. 

Prices in Sydney and Melbourne rose for a 2nd consecutive month.

The median property value nationally reached a new high of $820,331.

Rents rose 0.6 per cent in the month, but rental price growth is off the highs and is likely to continue cooling given affordability constraints.

Rents are up 38.4 per cent over the past five years, versus only 15.4 per cent for wage price growth.

Source: CoreLogic

The Reserve Bank of Australia looks set to hold interest rates at this afternoon's meeting, but with inflation and wages cooling the May 2025 meeting could be a 'live' one for a potential cut.

The wrap

Overall, it looks as though the first cut in the cycle has turned sentiment around in Melbourne and Sydney, where prices are rising modestly.

The rental shortage persists, but at least rents are no longer rising quite so fast.

The Coalition has pledged to cut the lending assessment buffer to 2½ percentage points if it wins the election, as the current 3 percentage points buffer is locking most lower income earners out of the housing market completely. 

You can read the full CoreLogic release here.

---

P.S. Whenever you’re ready…here are 4 ways I can help you:

    1. Download our property buying guide

Download our free property buying guide here. 

You can also check out a few of our recent property purchases here. 

Get in contact with us today if strategic property investment is your thing. 

    2. Subscribe to our Top 10 Podcasts for Investors

Listen in to our podcasts

The Australian Property Podcast is rapidly becoming one of Australia's biggest business podcasts, now with well over 50,000 audio downloads per month, and growing fast.

And our popular Low Rates High Returns Show also remains available on Spotify.

    3. Subscribe for my free daily blog

Subscribe for my free daily blog with some 3¾ million hits here. 

You can also catch up with me daily on Twitter here, where I'm active daily and have over 14,900 followers. 

By the way, I'm an 8-times published author on finance, investing, and business, so you can check out some of my books here.

My new book, co-authored with Cate Bakos is available to buy here or on Amazon here - follow our book release on Facebook here and at our Buy Right podcast series here. 

4. Work with me privately

For a limited time you can book in a free diagnosis call with me here, so book in a call today.