Prices lift
Housing prices across all 8 capital cities in Q2, before the lockdowns struck, with Sydney and Canberra recording price index gains of more than 8 per cent for the quarter.
It was a record high result, in part because the gains were recorded across the board in response to lower mortgage rates.
The strongest performing market since 2003 has been Hobart, followed by a very consistent Melbourne.
The move in Q2 was more marked for detached houses, although there are now signs of attached dwelling prices rising, as affordability constraints bite, especially in Sydney.
The mean dwelling price lifted by $146,300 over the financial year, driven by sharp increases in New South Wales, while the ACT saw a huge lift.
The total value of the dwelling stock increased to $8.9 trillion - up from $6.7 trillion at the 2019 election nadir - which should create a serious wealth effect, given how comfortably debt is now being managed.
Vacancies tighten again
In other news vacancies continued to decline in August, except in the CBDs, down to a total of just 58,856 vacancies (well down from 69,976 a year earlier).
The national vacancy rate declined to 1.6 per cent, well down from 2 per cent a year earlier.
Adelaide now looks especially tight at just 0.6 per cent, while there is little sign of respite for renters in Hobart.
SQM expects to see further rental price increases as a result.
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You can get a more detailed view on the housing price trends with James Foster here.
