Median selling prices ‘have not doubled’ over decade

The weekly PropertyPulse report from property researcher CoreLogic examined key areas of Australia’s property market and questioned the theory that median property selling prices have doubled over 10 years.

The findings suggest that while results diverged significantly across the nation’s capital cities, “based on broad averages, in most areas of the country median prices have not doubled”.

The report also found that on average, most properties have fallen short of doubling their value over the last decade with far fewer owners seeing “their real estate asset double in price over the past decade than those who have”.

According to CoreLogic’s research, the median house price in 2006 was $330,000, with the median unit price sitting at $310,000. Ten years on, median selling prices are now $499,000 and $445,000 respectively.

“What we’re seeing is a selling price increase of 51 per cent for houses over the decade and 44 per cent for units,” said Cameron Kusher, CoreLogic researcher.

More than 10 per cent of suburbs across major cities have seen prices double

Mr Kusher noted that the report highlighted “just how much growth over the decade has been tilted towards Sydney, Melbourne and Darwin”.

More than 10 per cent of suburbs across NSW, Vic and NT saw dwelling prices double, with Sydney, Melbourne and Darwin seeing overall dwelling prices the “closest to doubling”.

Findings suggested that Melbourne was the only city where more than half (51 per cent) of individual suburbs saw median selling prices double over the last decade, while prices in more than 40 per cent of suburbs across Sydney and more than 10 per cent of suburbs across Darwin also doubled.

However, Mr Kusher noted that values in Darwin have already begun to decline, while they continue to rise in Sydney and Melbourne.

He added that the properties that have seen prices double over the last 10 years were “likely to be situated in Sydney, Melbourne or Darwin, while in other capital cities and regional areas of the country the prospects of prices having doubled over this period are much lower”.

Mr Kusher said that although certain areas can see property prices double every seven to 10 years, “there are no guarantees”.

[Related: Dwelling resale losses increase nationally]