Australian house values breach $400,000

By BN, 15 October 2009

The median value of an Australian house has breached the $400,000 mark for the first time, property information specialists Residex has revealed.

Recently released Residex data showed that the median value of a house in Australia reached $408,500 in August, an increase of 2.51% on the figure recorded at the same time last year.

Unit values followed a similar trend, with the nationwide median value increasing by 4.34% to $364,000 in the 12 months from August 2008. Unit values in the Northern Territory recorded a massive 19.4% increase over the same period while Darwin registered a similarly impressive 15.05%.

Perth and Western Australia Country struggled meanwhile, recording house value falls of 6.21% and 8.33% respectively. Unit prices in Perth dropped by 2.30% and 3.79% in WA Country.

Residex CEO John Edwards said the data suggested confidence was returning to the Australian property market and that residential investments are once again providing buyers with positive gains.

Edwards added that further milestones were within reach: "Without doubt, we can be sure that by the end of September [2009] the median value of a property in Sydney will exceed $600,000."

However, he pointed out that in order to purchase a property at that price, buyers with a deposit of $144,000 would need to be able to make monthly repayments of approximately $2,950 per month at current interest rates.