April price gains ‘on par’ with previous months: CoreLogic

CoreLogic’s Home Value Index (HVI) has shown that home values have continued to trend higher during April, rising by 0.6 per cent.

According to CoreLogic, this was “on par” with the pace of price gains recorded in February and March, with the month-on-month rise adding around $4,720 to the national median dwelling value.

April’s price gains have taken the current growth cycle into its 15th consecutive month, with housing values up 11.1 per cent (approximately $78,000) since the January trough in 2023.

The HVI report stated that beneath the headline numbers, there have been “multi-speed conditions” observed among the capital cities.

Perth, Adelaide, and Brisbane led the pace of growth for the month, rising by 2 per cent, 1.3 per cent, and 0.9 per cent, respectively.

Meanwhile, Sydney has held steady around 0.4 per cent mark over the first four months of the year, while Melbourne (down by 0.1 per cent in April) has “broadly stabilised” after its 0.8 per cent over the three months to January.

Tim Lawless, CoreLogic’s research director, said they haven’t observed “any signs of heat” coming out of the Perth housing market so far.

“[I]n fact, the quarterly pace of growth, at 6.0 per cent, is approaching the cyclical highs seen during the pandemic when interest rates were at rock bottom,” Lawless said.

“On the other hand, we are seeing the pace of gains slow across the Brisbane market, easing below the 1 per cent mark to 0.9 per cent in April for the first time in 12 months.

“Affordability pressures may be impacting the pace of growth across the city, following a nearly $300,000 increase in values since the onset of COVID-19 in March 2020, the largest dollar value increase of any capital.”

Westpac senior economist Matthew Hassan stated that the April update is “a bit unclear” on whether or not price momentum is lifting or fading.

“What is clear however is the diverging performance across markets with conditions softening in Sydney and Melbourne but upturns still powering ahead in Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth,” Hassan said.

Belinda Allen, senior economist at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), said the price gains over the first four months of the year have been “a little stronger” than anticipated.

“Strong demand despite lower borrowing capacity and rising affordability challenges, as well as continued supply constraints has continued to push momentum in the housing market,” Allen said.

“Talks of interest rate cuts earlier in the year could also have provided a boost.”

Meanwhile, PropTrack’s Home Price Index recorded a 0.23 per cent lift to national home prices, with an annual increase of 6.6 per cent.

PropTrack senior economist Eleanor Creagh said that the stable interest rate environment has contributed to buyer and seller confidence.

“Higher than expected inflation in the March quarter has pushed back the expected timing of rate cuts but most expect that the next move for interest rates will be down although the timing remains uncertain,” Creagh said.

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