Australia's capital city dwelling values grew by a further 1.6 per cent over the month of September, taking RP Data-Rismark's Hedonic Home Value Index results to a record high, driven by strong gains in Sydney and Melbourne.
The September results took the change in capital city dwelling values to 8.7 per cent since the market started recovering in June 2012. RP Data research director and analyst Tim Lawless has described this as a 'technical' recovery in the housing market with the index moving to a position 0.7 per cent higher than the previous record high in October 2010.
According to Mr Lawless, the September gains were fuelled primarily by Australia's two largest housing markets, Sydney and Melbourne, where residential property values in each city were up by more than 2 per cent over the month.
"Sydney home values were 2.5 per cent higher over the month and are up 5.2 per cent over the September quarter while Melbourne values have seen a similar 2.4 per cent month-on-month gain and a 5.0 per cent quarterly lift. We haven't seen market conditions this strong since April 2009 for Sydney and May 2010 for Melbourne," Mr Lawless said.
According to RP Data, an important factor to note when considering the current rate of capital gains is to look at the longer history of capital gains.
"Sydney dwelling values have appreciated by just 2.5 per cent per annum over the past decade which is less than annual rates of inflation and wages growth over this period. Sydney's annual average rate of capital gain over the past ten years is actually the lowest of any capital city," concluded Mr Lawless.
While Sydney and Melbourne dwelling values powered higher in September, most other capital cities are recording much more subdued housing market conditions. Dwelling values moved lower in Brisbane (-0.3%), Perth (-0.1%), Hobart (-2.0%), Darwin (-2.5%) and Canberra (-0.7%), whilst Adelaide values posted a 1.1 per cent capital gain over the month.