Brisbane property market booms while other capitals struggle

Sydney residential property prices grew by 3.4 per cent for the three months to 31 December 2014 and by 12.2 per cent during the 2014 calendar year.

Brisbane has now become Australia’s number two market, after prices rose 1.4 per cent over the quarter and 5.3 per cent over the year.

Third place was filled by Melbourne, which recorded 1.3 per cent quarterly growth and 4.5 per cent annual growth.

Adelaide climbed by 0.8 per cent over the quarter and 2.5 per cent over the year, while Hobart climbed by 1.0 per cent over the quarter and 2.2 per cent over the year.

Canberra posted 0.2 per cent quarterly growth and 1.7 per cent annual growth, while Perth posted 0.3 per cent quarterly growth and 1.2 per cent annual growth.

Darwin fell by 0.6 per cent over the quarter but rose by 0.8 per cent over the year.

Inflation reached 1.7 per cent during 2014, which means that Canberra prices remained steady in real terms, while Perth and Darwin prices went backwards.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics also revealed that the total number of homes in Australia increased by 1.6 per cent to 9.4 million during 2014.

Australian home values increased by 7.6 per cent over the year, while the mean dwelling price rose 6.0 per cent to $572,000.