According to Australian Property Monitors’ (APM) Quarterly Housing report, the property market posted a 12.1 per cent rise in median house prices for the year to December 2009
Although first home buyer demand sustained the market in the early part of the year, it was upgraders and investors that drove the strong overall result, as activity in the more expensive suburbs benefited from the surprisingly resilient jobs market experienced in late 2009 and a strongly rising share market.
“The price growth seen in the more expensive suburbs in 2009 has largely been a recovery of the price falls that have occurred since late 2007 and early 2008. This top-end recovery has been completed in most capitals with median house prices surpassing pre-GFC highs for the first time in the December quarter in Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth,” APM economist Matthew Bell said.
Mr Bell said the increase in median house prices in Brisbane was the highest recorded in the city since the end of 2007 and early 2008, just before the global financial crisis hit.
REIQ chief executive Dan Molloy said there had been a “soft landing” in the Brisbane market. “Looking at the performances of Sydney and Melbourne, it is interesting that Brisbane went pretty well in terms of the last cycle. When the southern markets were languishing in 2007, the Brisbane market continued to perform pretty well,” he said.
Hobart was the second strongest market nationally with median house prices rising over 14 per cent in 2009 while prices in Darwin lifted 13.5 per cent and Brisbane’s 7.7 per cent.
This report factualises what some Real Estate agents were reporting in their patch.
In all it looks like the Brisbane market has faired well. The growth should continue into the end of 2010 with confidence growing again.
For more information please check out the APM report at http://www.homepriceguide.com.au/media_release/APM_HousePriceSeries_DecemberQ09.pdf
Cheers
Shawn Kristofer
