The first 17-months of Sydney property prices fell

Sydney’s property markets, which have seen the greatest value explosions since the 1980s has seen their first price drop for 17 months.

CoreLogic has released new data which shows that Sydney’s house prices fell 0.1% in February. This is the first decrease since September 2020.

The median value of a dwelling in Sydney – which includes both houses and apartments – is now just over $1.1 million.

Sydney was the only capital that saw a monthly drop. Melbourne (0.0%), Perth (0.3%) and Perth (0.3%) showed flat or meager growth.

Nationally, dwelling values rose 0.6% in February. This is the 17th consecutive monthly rise in Australian house prices.

CoreLogic’s director for research Tim Lawless stated, “While Sydney and Melbourne are showing signs that they are in decline, regional areas are still thriving.”

“Sydney and Melbourne have shown the sharpest slowdown, with Sydney (-0.1 per cent) posting the first decline in housing values since September 2020, while Melbourne housing values (0.0 per cent) were unchanged over the month, following similar results in December (-0.1 per cent) and January (+0.2 per cent),” he said.

“Conditions are less apparent in smaller capitals, especially Brisbane, Adelaide and Hobart, where housing values increased more than 1% in February. 

“Likewise, regional markets have been protected from slowing economic growth with five of the six rest-of states regions reporting monthly gains exceeding 1.2 per cent.”

Brisbane was the largest winner of February 2022. Brisbane was the big winner with a median value $722.433 and dwelling values increasing by 1.8 percent.

Strong growth was observed in Adelaide (+1.5%) and Hobart (+1.2%) as well as combined regional centers (+1.6%).

Lawless stated that this region was still benefiting from the COVID-19 trend, where city dwellers are opting to buy property in lifestyle-focused locales.

Fixed-term mortgage rates continue to rise and are a problem for regional housing market. These markets are also affected by rising housing costs, which continue to outpace incomes.

“However, demographic tailwinds and low inventory continue to support strong upwards pricing across regional housing markets.

Many people keep an eye on the Reserve Bank of Australia to see if there are any rate changes. But Mr Lawless stated that the negative effects of rate changes on the property market extend well beyond the cash rate.

Lawless stated, “The slower growth conditions in Australian property prices goes well beyond rising expectation for interest rates hikes late in the year.”

“The pace at which housing value growth began slowing in April last year. Fixed-term mortgage rates were starting to feel the pinch. Housing affordability was becoming more difficult as fiscal support was ending.

“With increasing global uncertainty, the possibility of weaker consumers sentiment amid tighter monetary policies, the downside risk for housing markets has been more evident in recent months.”

Australia’s capital city property prices February 2022*

Capital city:	Monthly changes	Median value
Sydney	– 0.1 per cent	$1,116,219
Melbourne	0.0 per cent	$799,756
Brisbane	+ 1.8 per cent	$722,433
Adelaide	+ 1.5 per cent	$593,883
Perth	+ 0.3 per cent	$535,335
Hobart	+ 1.2 per cent	$724,366
Darwin	+ 0.4 per cent	$495,573
Canberra	+ 0.4 per cent	$909,379
National	+ 0.6 per cent	$728,034

*CoreLogic National February Home Value Index