Melbourne has outshined Sydney in terms of growth in home values. In the latest Domain House Price Report for the last quarter of 2015, the median price in Melbourne has risen by 1.8 percent, while Sydney's median home price sank by 3.1 percent. Furthermore, it was projected that Melbourne's growth will continue to outperform Sydney by 2 to 5 percent.
It looks like Sydney will soon be seeing another contender. According to Domain, Canberra is identified as one of the three capital cities to see growth in residential property values. In Core Logic RP's monthly home value index published on Monday, home values in Canberra were up by 2.8 percent in January 2016. The median sales price for the same month was $12,000 higher. The other two capital cities are Hobart and Melbourne.
While Hobart and Melbourne saw growths in property values of 4.7 percent and 2.5 percent respectively, the other Australian capitals were either flat or fell. Unfortunately, Sydney belongs to the latter. Moreover, the median price for homes in Canberra is now $587,000 but it is cheaper to buy a home in Canberra by $190,000 than in Sydney.
CoreLogic RP Data head of research Tim Lawless said, "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."
In an earlier report, Canberra real estate is expected to get hotter this year. According to Mozo, demand for rental properties and increase in buyer interest will cause the real estate market in Canberra to heat up. J Hooker Manuka principal Stephen Thompson believes that the increased demand for inner suburbs will be one of the biggest trends in 2016, as more couples will prefer the benefits of city life while living in apartments.