Australian house prices rose in June for the 17th consecutive month as tight supply outweighed demand pressures from high interest rates, falling living costs and tighter lending conditions, property consultant CoreLogic said on Monday.
CoreLogic data shows national house prices rose 0.7% in June, down from 0.8% in May. Prices are up 8.0% from a year earlier.
“This persistent growth comes despite a range of downside risks,” Tim Lawless, research director at CoreLogic, said in a statement, highlighting the country’s compressed cost of living, interest rates at their highest level in 12 years, problems of housing affordability and strict credit policies of lenders.
“The resilience of the real estate market comes down to the tight supply which maintains upward pressure on values,” he added.
In state capitals, monthly prices rose fastest in Perth (+2%), Adelaide (+1.7%) and Brisbane (+1.2%). Prices in Melbourne fell 0.2%.
Demand-side factors have had an influence on price developments in the states, “particularly with rates of interstate migration well above average in Western Australia, Queensland and previously South Australia”, said CoreLogic.
Australian inflation accelerated to a six-month high in May while a key measure of core prices rose for the fourth month, data showed last week, prompting markets to raise the odds of another interest rate hike this year.
The Reserve Bank of Australia has kept interest rates at 4.35% for five consecutive meetings.
