Property prices have soared this year on the back of ultra-low interest rates, government stimulus, cash saved during lockdowns, a shortage of homes for sale and a desire for more space from families stuck at home.
A year of records in property:
A record number of properties were sold across Australia. Sales volumes reached the highest levels in almost 18 years, at an estimated 614,635 sales over the past 12 months.
It was the fastest annual rate of house price growth on record at 21.9%; the highest jump since 1989, and in stark contrast to the 3.1 per cent annual growth rate a year earlier.
National capital city house prices are closing in on a record $1 million.
Melbourne and Canberra join Sydney to have a median house price above $1 million.
Record number of scheduled auctions across Australia as sellers chased buyer competitiveness and opted to sell by auction.
The time to sell a house was the quickest it’s been since 2008 and 2014 for units.
Demand was strongest for detached housing, with values up 24.6 per cent, compared to a 14.2 per cent rise in unit values, amid strong demand from owner-occupiers compared to investors.
With the summer break coming up fast, it begs the question, how will buyer demand fare in 2022? The transition from Spring to Summer normally brings a dip in buyer demand with an average drop of 11 per cent over the past three years across the combined capitals. However, the start to summer has been unusually strong by historical standards and is likely to bring with that more activity than has been seen over the past 3 summers. However, affordability constraints, further pending moves from APRA and the prospects of rising interest rates will weigh on buyer demand.