House prices up, as first home buyers return to the market
Median house prices across Australia's capital cities have increased over the June quarter by 1.4 per cent, with other dwellings up 0.6 percent, according to the latest data from the Bendigo Bank/REIA Real Estate Market Facts report prepared by the Real Estate Institute of Australia.
Bendigo and Adelaide Bank's Executive Retail, Dennis Bice, said the report shows there has been growth across a number of market sectors.
"The results underscore the old property adage that there really are 'markets within markets' both at different levels in different cities and in regional centres around the states and territories where good value and solid returns can still be found," Mr Bice said.
The report also revealed an increase in the number of loans to first home buyers, which increased by 5.9 per cent to 25,101 over the June quarter 2012, up from the June quarter of the previous year by 11.8 per cent.
"People have been putting the big decisions, such as upsizing or downsizing their housing preferences on hold for some time now but there is evidence to suggest that activity in the property market is beginning to build again, said Mr Bice.
"Investors are also seeing strong demand for rentals in the major centres with tight vacancy rates.
"The positive impact this has on rental returns, coupled with lower borrowing costs, should see a more active spring real estate season," he said.
"The report also finds that around Australia, residential investment property returns for three bedroom houses and two bedroom 'other dwellings', such as apartments and townhouses show an average annual return over the past five and 10 year periods in the range of 6.6 per cent to 16.2 per cent*," Mr Bice concluded.
For more information contact Simon Disney, Media Manager, Bendigo Wealth on 0408 161 466.
* Residential property investment yields and returns before tax based on net rental income, i.e. median rent adjusted downward by 20% to take into account costs including maintenance, insurance and agency fees that are associated with ownership of an investment property.
