Higher-end property values dropping rapidly

CoreLogic’s Property Pulse has revealed that over the March quarter, home values across the most expensive sector of the market fell by 1.1 per cent, while the value of houses in the “middle market” increased by 0.3 per cent and those in “the most affordable” bracket rose by 0.7 per cent”.

Further, when extrapolating the figures out for the past year, dwelling values in the higher end of the market rose by 0.1 per cent, while the value of the middle market rose by 2.7 per cent and by 0.7 per cent in the bottom end of the market.

Over the past 12 months, the most radical drop in property values occurred in Darwin. The most expensive houses in Darwin saw the largest drop in value, falling by 9 per cent, while the middle market dropped by 8.2 per cent and the most affordable suburbs saw values fall by 6.8 per cent.

Likewise, in the Sydney market, the most expensive properties dropped by 5.7 per cent in value (compared to the middle market’s 0.9 per cent). However, the most affordable segment of the Sydney market increased its value by 0.6 per cent.

In the same period, the middle market in regional NSW experienced the greatest rise in values (5.6 per cent), followed by the most affordable segment (4.1 per cent). However, the priciest segment of the regional market also grew (3.7 per cent).

In Melbourne, while the most expensive segment of the housing market grew by just 1.6 per cent in the past year, the cheapest end of the market recorded a 11.3 per cent spike in values.

In Perth, regional WA and regional SA, the higher end of the property market also saw falls in prices.

Elsewhere, the Hobart market saw a substantial value growth across the board, from 13.9 per cent increase in property prices for the most affordable, 11.6 per cent for the middle market and 10.5 per cent at the most expensive end.

According to the CoreLogic report, the latest figures are in line with previous market trends.

“The data highlights that, particularly within the housing markets which have recorded the strongest value growth over recent years (Sydney and Melbourne), growth across the premium housing sector is slowing more rapidly than the other sectors.

“This mirrors the experience in other recent housing market slowdowns/downturns whereby it is the most expensive suburbs which slow first and have experienced the larger downturns.”

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