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Growth in Housing Price Index Seen
Kevin Fordham
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the national index climbed 4.2 percent, a turnaround from the 1.5 percent fall recorded last quarter. This exceeds the median market forecast for a rise of 2 percent.
"A 4.2 percent rise in established dwellings in the June 2009 quarter followed four straight quarters of decline in the ABS series with the index still down by 1.4 per cent relative to mid- 2008," said Housing Industry Association chief economist Harley Dale.
"The fact that house prices have held up is an important factor in Australia dodging the massive economic fall-out evident in the United States and the United Kingdom. Signs of life in the real estate market will also be helping to underpin consumer confidence at a time when confidence in Australia's economic prospects is very important."
Year-to-June figures show that Australia's house price index fell 1.4 percent. On a per city basis, Darwin recorded the strongest growth with an 11 percent index jump. Sydney dropped 0.9 percent, Melbourne is down by 1.5 percent, Brisbane dipped 3.3 percent while Adelaide's index is up by 2.7 percent.
Source: http://realestate.blogs.ozfreeonline.com/australian-real-estate-news/growth-in-housing-price-index-seen-2/
8/10/2009
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