Canberra records strongest year for home values since 2010: RP Data index

Canberra is one of just three capital cities to record growth in residential property values so far this year, a monthly snapshot of Australian real estate prices has revealed.

The territory has also seen its strongest year of dwelling value increases in six years, according to Core Logic RP’s monthly home value index published on Monday.

Home values in Canberra jumped 2.8 per cent in January, while the median sale price for the month was up $12,000.

Hobart’s property values pulled ahead 4.7 per cent and Melbourne saw growth of 2.5 per cent, while values in the other Australian capitals either stagnated or fell.

CoreLogic RP Data head of research Tim Lawless said the the annual pace of growth across the Canberra market has been “progressively improving”.

“The nation’s capital has benefitted from improved buyer confidence while rising demand has seen much of the housing oversupply absorbed, particularly across the detached housing market where gains have been the highest,” Mr Lawless said.

Home values have ballooned by 6 per cent in the ACT in the past 12 months – the largest annual gain since 2010.

This figure comes off the back of Thursday’s Domain December House Price Report, which revealed Canberra’s median house price jumped 4.3 per cent between September and December.

Canberra’s median dwelling price is now $587,000, $15,000 higher than the combined capitals’ value.

It’s still roughly $190,000 cheaper to buy in Canberra rather than Sydney, although Sydney’s annual rate of capital gain is now at a 29-month low.

The Home Value Index is calculated using recent sales data combined with information about the attributes of individual properties such as the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, land area and geographical context of the dwelling.