Median house price rise signals property market recovery

Monday, 30 Jan 2012

A rise in the median national house price for the first time since the third quarter of 2010 is a further sign that Australia's housing market is making steps on the road to recovery.

Citing figured from the Australian Property Monitors' quarterly housing report, the Real Estate Institute of New South Wales (REINSW) noted that the last three months of 2011 saw marked improvements, particularly in Sydney and Melbourne.

Over the next year, Andrew Wilson, senior economist with Australian Property Monitors, said there is "realistic potential for a sustained turn-around in some markets", although he admitted that some capital cities are likely to perform more strongly than others.

In Sydney, house prices held steady from September to December 2011, while in Melbourne, a 1.1 price growth was recorded during the same three-month period.

Earlier this month, REINSW figures indicated a slight relaxation in rental vacancy rates across Australia's largest city in December, although this was largely attributed to seasonal variations, as vacancy rates tend to tighten at the start of a new year.

Elsewhere across NSW, rental vacancies continued to tighten, particularly in Wollongong, the Hunter region and the Illawara region.