OTHER STATES AND TERRITORIES
Canberra is an example of the diversity in Australia’s many different property markets. While Sydney has been booming, Canberra has been quiet and now, as Sydney winds down, Canberra is rising.
The median house price in Canberra is forecast by the QBE Housing Outlook Report to have the strongest growth of all the cities over the next three years, while the Housing Boom and Bust Report by SQM Research’s Louis Christopher suggests dwelling values in Canberra will increase by up to 9% in 2018.
Canberra has been delivering some impressive statistics, with low vacancy rates, consistent sales activity and solid price growth. According to SQM’s Weekly Rents Index, house rents in Canberra are up 12.5% in annual terms.
Putting all those solid statistics together with forecasts of good growth in coming years suggests Canberra will be a leading property market in 2018.
The strongest markets, in terms of forward movement in sales activity and the influence of infrastructure spending, are the northern precincts – the Belconnen and Gungahlin districts.
The strong recent performance of the Hobart market has coincided with the strengthening of the Tasmanian economy. According to some research sources, Hobart was the leading capital city on annual growth in house prices in 2017.
Hobart has been dominating national lists of locations where homes are selling the fastest. One report found that, of the Australian suburbs where houses are selling in under 10 days, half were in Hobart.
Mainland investors are now targeting Tasmania, especially Hobart, because it’s so affordable compared with the biggest cities and offers much better rental yields. Real estate performance is underpinned by a strong state economy and improved population numbers.
Hobart continues to deliver the lowest vacancies in capital city Australia. A recent report from Louis Christopher, at SQM Research, found a vacancy rate of 0.3%. It’s been like that for a long time.
While Perth has shown clear signs of recovery, the other downturn market among the capital cities, Darwin, is still mired in negativity – but with some hope for better things in 2018. One positive statistic is the reduction in Darwin’s overall vacancy rate.