House prices across Australia are now plunging faster than they did during the global financial crisis
- Capital city property prices dived by 5.1 per cent last year, official figures show
- This was much steeper than the 3.3 per cent suffered in 2008 during the GFC
- Sydney values plunged by 7.8 per cent in 2018 to be Australia’s worst market
House prices across Australia are plunging at a faster pace than they did during the height of the global financial crisis a decade ago.
In 2018, capital city property prices dived by 5.1 per cent, Australian Bureau of Statistics data showed.
This was much steeper than the 3.3 per cent drop during 2008, at the height of the GFC.
House prices across Australia are plunging at a faster pace than they did during the height of the global financial crisis a decade ago (Sydney pictured)
ABS chief economist Bruce Hockman said Sydney and Melbourne had weighed down the national housing market, after peaking in 2017.
‘Australia’s two largest cities continue to lead the fall in property prices,’ he said.
Sydney was Australia’s worst performing real estate market with values last year plunging by 7.8 per cent.
Melbourne was also in dire straits, with equivalent house values dropping by 6.4 per cent.
In 2018, capital city property prices dived by 5.1 per cent, Australian Bureau of Statistics data showed. This was much steeper the 3.3 per cent drop during 2008, at the height of the GFC (Lehman Brothers building in New York pictured a decade ago)
House prices in Australia’s biggest cities had enjoyed solid growth between 2012 and 2017, which saw Sydney values surge by 68 per cent as Melbourne prices climbed by 54 per cent.
This changed when the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority cracked down on investor and interest-only loans.
While interest rates are still at a record low of 1.5 per cent, other capital city markets are struggling with Perth values last year falling by 2.5 per cent as Brisbane prices slipped by 0.3 per cent and Darwin values dropped by 3.5 per cent.
Not all capital cities are doing badly, with Hobart bucking the trend to see its property prices surge by 9.6 per cent.
Canberra values rose by 1.8 per cent last year as Adelaide prices increased by 1.5 per cent.
The decline in house prices is likely to have worsened since the ABS data was compiled for 2018.
More up-to-date data from CoreLogic showed Sydney and Melbourne property prices had dived by 10.4 per cent and 9.1 per cent, respectively, in the year to the end of February.
Sydney (pictured) was Australia’s worst performing real estate market with values last year plunging by 7.8 per cent
Median dwelling values in Sydney stand at $789,339 while in Melbourne they are at $629,457.
House prices in Sydney have suffered the most dramatic fall since July 2017, with median values tumbling by 15.3 per cent, dropping by $161,623 to $888,117 in February.
Australia’s average property price stood at $651,100 last year, the ABS said.