Monthly Housing & Economic Overview - January 2016

Source:  CoreLogic

Home values

• Combined capital city home values increased by 0.9% in January with values rising in Sydney, Melbourne, Hobart and Canberra, they were unchanged in Adelaide and fell elsewhere
• Home values were -0.6% lower over the three months to January 2016 with Brisbane, Perth, Hobart and Canberra recording increases
• Over the past 12 months, combined capital city home values have increased by 7.4% however, only Sydney (10.5%) and Melbourne (11.0%) have recorded significant growth with moderate increases in Brisbane (2.8%), Adelaide (1.1%), Hobart (2.3%) and Canberra (6.0%) while values in Perth (-4.1%) and Darwin (-2.5%) continue to trend lower

• Over the 12 months to November 2015 there were 357,192 houses and 137,373 units sold nationally
• House sales are 2.1% higher over the year while unit sales are -7.3% lower
• It is important to note, the large volume of off-the-plan sales currently means there is a high likelihood unit sales volumes will be revised higher over the coming years

• Capital city rental rates have recorded no change over the past year which is their slowest annual rate of growth on record
• With record low rental growth and strong value growth rental yields have also fallen and sit at 3.5% which is also a record low

• The typical capital city home is currently selling after 41 days on the market compared to 39 days a year ago
• The average level of discount is recorded at -5.9% compared to -5.7% a year ago
• Auction clearance rates are trending lower after reaching 80% earlier in 2015 and were sitting at around 60% at the end of last year

• Over the past 28 days there were 45,333 new homes listed for sale which is 22.8% higher than a year ago
• Over the same timeframe there were 243,218 total homes listed for sale which is 4.6% higher than a year ago

• New lending to investors has eased sharply over recent months with new lending to owner occupiers now the biggest source of mortgage demand
• Total housing credit is rising however, investment credit growth continues to slow and is now well below APRAs 10% threshold for annual growth
• The rate of population growth at a national level has continued to slow
• Dwelling approvals remain very high although they are slightly below their record high. Over the past year there has been almost 234,000 dwelling approvals
• Consumer sentiment eased slightly in January with respondents now slightly more pessimistic than optimistic
• The unemployment rate eased to 5.8% in January which was its lowest level in two years
• Official interest rates remained on hold in February with the market anticipating a 25 basis point cut to official interest rates by September this year.