The share prices of the major ASX banks are down this morning as Australia’s house price growth slowed in December 2019 according to CoreLogic.
Australian House Price Changes In December 2019
Corelogic has released its December 2019 Home Value Index for the final month of 2019 and the 2010s.
House prices rose by more than 2% a month in Sydney and Melbourne during October 2019 and November 2019, but December 2019 saw that growth slow a little, though it was still a strong rise.
National dwelling prices rose by 1.1% during December with combined capital prices going up 1.2% and combined regional prices rising 0.5%.
Sydney House Prices
In Sydney, the price rise for the month was 1.7%. Over the December quarter prices rose by 6.2% and the 2019 annual return was 5.3%.
Melbourne House Prices
In Melbourne, the price rise during December was 1.4%. Over the quarter prices increased by 6.1% and the annual return was 5.3%.
Brisbane House Prices
In the Queensland capital property prices went up by 0.7% during last month, over the past three months prices grew by 2.4% but the annual increase only registered 0.3% growth.
Adelaide House Prices
Adelaide property prices saw a monthly increase of 0.5% and quarterly growth of 1.4%. However, Adelaide prices were actually down by 0.2% in 2019.
Perth House Prices
In WA, Perth house prices were flat with a 0% change in December 2019, but over the past three months prices went down 0.1% and the annual decline was 6.8%.
Hobart House Prices
In Hobart, property prices grew 0.2% over the month, went up 3.4% in the quarter and the 2019 annual return showed a rise of 3.9%.
Darwin House Prices
The declines continued for Darwin in December 2019 with a 0.5% fall, a 1.4% drop over the quarter and annually property prices in Darwin fell 9.7%.
Canberra House Prices
In Australia’s capital property prices increased by 0.1% in December, 2.3% during the quarter and 3.1% over 2019.
CoreLogic Comments
CoreLogic head of research Tim Lawless said: “Although the monthly capital gains trend remains fast-paced, the 1.1% rise in December was softer relative to the 1.7% gain in November and the 1.2% rise in October. This would suggest that the pace of capital gains may have been dampened by higher advertised stock levels or worsening affordability pressures through early summer.
Commenting on the housing recovery in the second half of 2019, Mr Lawless said, “The housing value rebound was spurred on by lower mortgage rates, a relaxation in borrower serviceability assessments, improved housing affordability and renewed certainty around property taxation policies post the federal election. Lower advertised stock levels persisted providing additional upwards pressure on prices amidst rising buyer activity.”
Share Price Reaction
The CBA (ASX: CBA) share price is down 0.3% so far, the Westpac (ASX: WBC) share price is down 0.4%, the NAB (ASX: NAB) share price is down 0.5% and the ANZ (ASX: ANZ) share price is down 0.5%.
However, some other property businesses have risen in response. The REA Group (ASX: REA) share price is currently up 1.4%.
