Is this the start of a trend?
Maybe Australia is not as insulated from the world wide property bubble as we would like to think?
A Second consecutive quarterly fall in the Established House Price index may well be the precursor for more dramatic falls in 2009, despite the Federal Governments interest rate cuts and First Home Owner Boosts.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics provides quarterly estimates of changes in housing prices in each of the eight capital cities of Australia.
The information is presented in the form of price indexes and is published quarterly.
The following is an exert from the ABS July to September 2008 quarter paper released 3rd November 2008.
“SEPTEMBER KEY POINTS
ESTABLISHED HOUSE PRICES
Quarterly Changes
Preliminary estimates show the price index for established houses for the weighted average of the eight capital cities decreased 1.8% in the September quarter 2008.
The capital city indexes fell this quarter in Brisbane (-3.3%), Canberra (-2.5%), Melbourne (-1.9%), Sydney (-1.8%), Perth (-1.1%), and Adelaide (-0.1%), and rose in Hobart (+0.7%), and Darwin (+0.1%).
The movement in the preliminary established house price index between March and June quarters 2008 has been revised from an estimated decrease of 0.3% to a decrease of 0.2%.
ANNUAL CHANGES (SEPTEMBER QUARTER 2007 TO SEPTEMBER QUARTER 2008)
Over the year to September quarter 2008, preliminary estimates show that the price index for established houses for the weighted average of the eight capital cities rose 2.8%.
Annually, house prices rose in Adelaide (+9.7%), Melbourne (+8.1%), Darwin (+6.4%), Brisbane (+5.6%), and Hobart (+2.4%), showed no change in Canberra (0.0%), and fell in Perth (-4.1%), and Sydney (-0.4%).
The movement in the preliminary established house price index between June quarters 2007 and 2008 has been revised from an estimated increase of 8.2% to an increase of 8.6%.”
This information is generally hidden away and scantly reported by the popular media. I find it interesting as it contradicts the reports by most media outlets. The information is useful If you are buying an established house.
Has your bank overcharged you? – Download this mortgage software to check your interest charges and claim your refund today!