House prices in some suburbs across Australia are rising despite a property crash and soaring interest rates.

The median house price grew in several suburbs of Sydney and Melbourne from July to September, as well as in some areas of Hobart and Brisbane.

The findings were revealed in property data business PropTrack’s latest Home Price Index September 2022 report.

It found that although price drops were widespread in general, the pace of falling values had eased and some suburbs had even seen house prices rise. 

National prices were down only 0.19 per cent, the smallest price fall since national prices started to dip in April 2022.

Sydney and Melbourne – which have been leading price falls across the country – saw falls ease.

However, regional areas in South Australia and Tasmania continue to defy national falls, hitting new price peaks in September.

In NSW, buyers are paying an average of more than $100,000 higher than they were in June.

The suburbs where values continued to grow were mostly in cheaper western areas or eastern zones where prices were lower than in neighbouring areas, according to the PropTrack data.

Most of the areas that saw rises also didn’t see prices soar when Covid lockdowns and rock bottom interest rates fuelled an unprecedented price boom last year.

Rouse Hill, 43 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district, saw the highest rise in the period, with house prices rising 24.08 per cent.

Quakers Hill saw prices rise by 17.98 per cent, Edmondson Park units were up by 14.14 per cent and Melonba prices rose 12.09 per cent.

‘Affordability is a key driver in this market,’ said PropTrack economist Paul Ryan. ‘As rates go up and people’s borrowing power has dropped, they go for what’s still affordable.’

Australian suburbs where house prices are RISING
PropTrack revealed 18 suburbs in Hobart recorded positive growth in the September quarter. They were led by Kingston Beach with a 19.06 per cent change

Other areas that saw growth included new Blacktown suburbs Nirimba Fields and Melonba, where house values lifted 6-12 per cent.

Houses in these suburbs were about $200,000 cheaper than the Sydney average.

Meanwhile, just over three-quarters of suburbs had a drop in house values and more than 90 per cent had a drop in unit values.

In Melbourne, median house prices grew in 279 suburbs from July to September.

Oakleigh led the list with a 6.2 per cent upswing, followed by Belgrave Heights with 5.66 per cent and Hughesdale in the city’s south east with 5.64 per cent.

PropTrack senior economist Eleanor Creagh said the larger size of properties in some high-performing suburbs was contributing to their popularity.

‘We have seen preference shifts continued since the onset of the pandemic, many people are looking for larger homes, bigger block sizes and more space,’ Ms Creagh said.

Meanwhile, Hobart was the only capital city where prices increased for the month of September, up 0.05 per cent, while the combined capitals eased 0.22 per cent.

PropTrack revealed 18 suburbs in Hobart recorded positive growth in the September quarter.

They were led by Kingston Beach with a 19.06 per cent change and Margate with 18.8 per cent.

In SA, 113 towns and suburbs recorded growth in their median house price over the past three months.

Seven out of the report’s top 10 locations were outside metropolitan Adelaide, with houses in Cleve recording the greatest increase in home value in the last quarter across the state.

The median house price rose by 24.14 per cent to reach $256,556.

The state’s other top gainers in the past quarter were Streaky Bay, which recorded a median house price increase of 17.08 per cent, Peterborough 9.69 per cent, Morgan 8.70 per cent, Ceduna 8.21 per cent and Quorn 8.18 per cent.

Lewiston, a semirural suburb, was the state’s top metropolitan performer and home values rose 23.99 per cent.

Hewett, Two Wells and Willaston were the other top-performing house areas in Greater Adelaide.

‘SA’s housing market has outperformed on a relative basis, benefiting from population flows, relative affordability advantages and remote work trends,’ Ms Creagh said.

‘We have also seen preference shifts since the onset of the pandemic, where people have desired larger homes and bigger block sizes,’ she said.

Article source: Queensland Property Investor