Residential Property Price Indexes: Eight Capital Cities

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Estimates of changes in residential property prices and the total value of Australia's dwelling stock, and preliminary housing market activity data

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Reference period
September 2020
Released
8/12/2020
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Key statistics

Weighted average of the eight capital cities Residential Property Price Index:

  • rose 0.8% this quarter.
  • rose 4.5% over the last twelve months.

The total value of residential dwellings in Australia rose $87.8b to $7,283.3b this quarter.

Main features

September key statistics

Residential property pricesJun Qtr 20 to Sep Qtr 20Sep Qtr 19 to Sep Qtr 20
% change% change
Weighted average of eight capital cities 0.8 4.5
Sydney 1.0 5.4
Melbourne-0.3 4.7
Brisbane 1.5 3.1
Adelaide 1.6 2.6
Perth 1.4 2.4
Hobart 1.2 6.0
Darwin 0.8-0.7
Canberra 0.9 5.0

 

 

Total value of the dwelling stockSep Qtr 20
Value of dwelling stock(a) ($b)

7 283.3

Mean price of residential dwellings ($'000)

689.5

Number of residential dwellings ('000)

10 562.8

a. all sectors

 

September key points

The Residential Property Price Indexes

Weighted average of the eight capital cities

  • rose 0.8% this quarter.
  • rose 4.5% over the last twelve months.

Capital city Residential Property Price Indexes

  • rose in Sydney (+1.0%), Brisbane (+1.5%), Perth (+1.4%), Adelaide (+1.6%), Canberra  (+0.9%), Hobart (+1.2%), and Darwin (+0.8%), and fell in Melbourne (-0.3%), this quarter. 
  • rose in Hobart (+6.0%), Sydney (+5.4%), Canberra (+5.0%), Melbourne (+4.7%), Brisbane (+3.1%), Adelaide (+2.6%), and Perth (+2.4%), and fell in Darwin (-0.7%), over the last twelve months. 

Total value of the dwelling stock

  • The total value of residential dwellings in Australia rose $87.8b to $7,283.3b this quarter. 
  • The mean price of residential dwellings rose $5,400 to $689,500. 
  • The number of residential dwellings rose by 44,000 to 10,562,800.

Notes

Revisions

Revisions apply to estimates for the second and third most recent quarters of the total value of dwelling stock (see Revisions, under Total value of dwelling stock, in the Explanatory notes) and to median prices and transfers (see Revisions, under Dwelling transfer counts and median prices, in the Methodology page).

Use of price indexes in contracts

Price indexes published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) provide summary measures of the movements in various categories of prices over time. They are published primarily for use in Government economic analysis. Price indexes are also often used in contracts by businesses and government to adjust payments and/or charges to take account of changes in categories of prices (Indexation Clauses).

Use of Price Indexes in Contracts sets out a range of issues that should be taken into account by parties considering including an Indexation Clause in a contract using an ABS published price index.

Impact of Coronavirus (COVID-19) in September quarter 2020

    COVID-19 continues to impact residential property transactions in some capital cities. The impacts this quarter are less than those seen in the June 2020 quarter. 

    For the September 2020 quarter, imputation was used for Darwin due to substantial falls in residential property transactions. The quarterly movement in the house price index and the attached dwellings price index for the eight capital cities were used to impute the movement in Darwin’s house price index and attached dwellings price index.

    Further information on imputation and the effects of COVID-19 can be found in the Methodology section of this publication (Residential Property Price Indexes: Eight Capital Cities methodology).

    Analysis

    Residential Property Price Indexes
     RPPI (a)HPIADPI
    Jun Qtr 20 to Sep Qtr 20Jun Qtr 20 to Sep Qtr 20Jun Qtr 20 to Sep Qtr 20
    % change% change% change
    Weighted average of eight capital cities 0.8 1.0 0.3
    Sydney 1.0 1.4 0.2
    Melbourne-0.3-0.3-0.2
    Brisbane 1.5 1.6 1.3
    Adelaide 1.6 1.9 0.9
    Perth 1.4 1.5 1.3
    Hobart 1.2 1.2 0.9
    Darwin 0.8 1.0 0.3
    Canberra 0.9 0.9 0.8

    a. See reference to rounding in Methodology page.

     

    Notes

    The discussion of individual cities is ordered in terms of their significance to the change in the Residential Property Price Index for the latest quarter. The Residential Property Price Index comprises the House Price Index and the Attached Dwellings Price Index.

    Weighted average of the eight capital cities (+0.8%)

    Residential Property Price Index

    • rose 0.8% this quarter, following a fall of 1.8% in the June quarter 2020.
    • rose 4.5% over the last twelve months.

    House Price Index

    • rose 1.0% this quarter, following a fall of 2.1% in the June quarter 2020.
    • rose 5.0% over the last twelve months.

    Attached Dwellings Price Index

    • rose 0.3% this quarter, following a fall of 1.2% in the June quarter 2020.
    • rose 3.1% over the last twelve months.

    Sydney (+1.0%)

    Residential Property Price Index

    • rose 1.0% this quarter, following a fall of 2.2% in the June quarter 2020.
    • rose 5.4% over the last twelve months.

    House Price Index

    • rose 1.4% this quarter, following a fall of 2.6% in the June quarter 2020.
    • price rises were observed across most segments of the market, with rises most evident in the middle to lower ($1.3m and below) market segments.
    • substantial rises in sales transaction numbers were observed across all segments of the market.
    • rose 6.6% over the last twelve months.

    Attached Dwellings Price Index

    • rose 0.2% this quarter, following a fall of 1.4% in the June quarter 2020. 
    • results were mixed across market segments, with price rises most evident in the middle to lower ($870,000 and below) segments of the market.
    • substantial rises in sales transaction numbers were observed across most segments of the market.
    • rose 3.4% over the last twelve months.

    Brisbane (+1.5%)

    Residential Property Price Index

    • rose 1.5% this quarter, following a fall of 0.9% in the June quarter 2020.
    • rose 3.1% over the last twelve months.

    House Price Index

    • rose 1.6% this quarter, following a fall of 0.9% in the June quarter 2020. 
    • price rises were observed across all segments of the market.
    • substantial rises in sales transaction numbers were observed across all segments of the market.
    • rose 3.8% over the last twelve months.

    Attached Dwellings Price Index

    • rose 1.3% this quarter, following a fall of 0.8% in the June quarter 2020. 
    • price rises were observed across all segments of the market, with rises most evident in the upper ($375,000 and above) segments of the market. 
    • substantial rises in sales transaction numbers were observed across all segments of the market.
    • rose 0.3% over the last twelve months.

    Perth (+1.4%)

    Residential Property Price Index

    • rose 1.4% this quarter, following a fall of 0.7% in the June quarter 2020.
    • rose 2.4% over the last twelve months.

    House Price Index

    • rose 1.5% this quarter. 
    • rose 3.4% over the last twelve months.

    Attached Dwellings Price Index

    • rose 1.3% this quarter.  
    • fell 1.4% over the last twelve months.

    Adelaide (+1.6%)

    Residential Property Price Index

    • rose 1.6% this quarter, following a fall of 0.8% in the June quarter 2020. 
    • rose 2.6% over the last twelve months.

    House Price Index

    • rose 1.9% this quarter.
    • rose 2.9% over the last twelve months.

    Attached Dwellings Price Index

    • rose 0.9% this quarter. 
    • rose 1.7% over the last twelve months.

    Canberra (+0.9%)

      Residential Property Price Index

      • rose 0.9% this quarter, following a rise of 0.8% in the June quarter 2020. 
      • rose 5.0% over the last twelve months.

      House Price Index

      • rose 0.9% this quarter. 
      • rose 6.2% over the last twelve months.

      Attached Dwellings Price Index

      • rose 0.8% this quarter.  
      • rose 1.8% over the last twelve months.

      Hobart (+1.2%)

          Residential Property Price Index

          • rose 1.2% this quarter, following a fall of 0.4% in the June quarter 2020.
          • rose 6.0% over the last twelve months.

          House Price Index

          • rose 1.2% this quarter. 
          • rose 5.9% over the last twelve months.

          Attached Dwellings Price Index

          • rose 0.9% this quarter.  
          • rose 6.4% over the last twelve months.

          Darwin (+0.8%)

          Residential Property Price Index

          • rose 0.8% this quarter, following a fall of 1.4% in the June quarter 2020.
          • fell 0.7% over the last twelve months.

          House Price Index

          • rose 1.0% this quarter. 
          • the quarterly movement in the eight capital cities house price index has been used to impute the movement in the house price index for Darwin. For more information on imputation, please refer to the Methodology section of this publication (Residential Property Price Indexes: Eight Capital Cities methodology).
          • fell 0.4% over the last twelve months.

          Attached Dwellings Price Index

          • rose 0.3 % this quarter.  
          • the quarterly movement in the eight capital cities attached dwellings price index has been used to impute the movement in the attached dwellings price index for Darwin. For more information on imputation, please refer to the Methodology section of this publication (Residential Property Price Indexes: Eight Capital Cities methodology).
          • fell 1.3% over the last twelve months.

          Melbourne (-0.3%)

            Residential Property Price Index

            • fell 0.3% this quarter, following a fall of 2.3% in the June quarter 2020.
            • rose 4.7% over the last twelve months.

            House Price Index

            • fell 0.3% this quarter, following a fall of 2.8% in the June quarter 2020.
            • results were mixed across market segments, with price falls most evident in the middle to upper ($900,000 and above) segments of the market.
            • decreases in sales transaction numbers were observed across most segments of the market.
            • rose 4.7% over the last twelve months.

            Attached Dwellings Price Index

            • fell 0.2% this quarter, following a fall of 1.0% in the June quarter 2020.
            • results were mixed across market segments, with price falls most evident in the upper ($650,000 and above) segments of the market.
            • decreases in sales transaction numbers were observed across most segments of the market.
            • rose 4.7% over the last twelve months.

                 

             

            • The preliminary estimate of the total value of residential dwellings in Australia this quarter was $7,283.3 billion, up from $7,195.5 billion in the June quarter 2020. Of the total value of residential dwellings, $6,953.1 billion was owned by households.
            • The number of residential dwellings rose by 44,000 to 10,562,800, and the mean price of residential dwellings rose $5,400 to $689,500 this quarter. 

             

            • The mean price of residential dwellings in New South Wales ($888,900) remains the highest in the country, followed by Victoria ($738,600) and then the Australian Capital Territory ($721,000). The lowest mean price is in the Northern Territory ($425,200).

            Data downloads

            Table 1. Residential property price index, index numbers and percentage changes

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            Table 2. Established house price index, index numbers and percentage changes

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            Table 3. Attached dwellings price index, index numbers and percentage changes

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            Tables 4 and 5. Median price (unstratified) and number of transfers (capital city and rest of state)

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            Table 6. Value of residential dwellings, all series

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            Table 7. All index numbers

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            Table 8. Established house price index, index numbers, pre-September quarter 2005 methodology

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            All data cubes

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            Previous catalogue number

            This release previously used catalogue number 6416.0

            Methodology

            Residential Property Price Indexes: Eight Capital Cities methodology, September 2020

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