Housing market shows ‘fragility’ despite small gains

House prices bounced 1.1 per cent in January, boosted by small gains in Sydney and Melbourne, but the longer-term trend shows a weakening in growth across the capitals, the latest CoreLogic data shows.

All capital cities posted a rise in the median dwelling values during the month, including Melbourne, which rebounded from December’s 0.1 per cent decline.

Brisbane and Adelaide led the charge. Brisbane’s dwelling values rose 2.3 per cent, and in Adelaide, they climbed 2.2 per cent, while Hobart and Canberra each gained more than 1 per cent each.

Sydney and Perth rose by 0.6 per cent each, Darwin was up by 0.5 per cent and Melbourne by 0.2 per cent.

“January is a bit harder to read because volumes are much thinner, so I wouldn’t read too much into it, including trends,” said Tim Lawless, CoreLogic’s research director.

“Looking at the longer-term trend, though, it’s quite clear that most of the capital cities are slowing in the rate of growth, even Brisbane and Adelaide.”

In the three months ended January 31, Sydney’s median values rose 1.8 per cent and Melbourne’s increased 0.8 per cent. The gains were markedly lower than the jump recorded in October-December when Sydney’s median values climbed 2.7 per cent and Melbourne’s by 1.5 per cent.