Australian home prices soared 23.7% in 2021, marking the strongest annual growth since at least 2003, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
The ABS’ Residential Property Price Index series recorded the strongest annual growth since the series began in the September 2003 quarter.
All capital cities recorded an annual rise in residential property prices last year, with Hobart, Canberra, Brisbane, Sydney and Adelaide recording their largest annual rises on record.
Hobart led the way, with home prices up 29.8% last year, followed by Canberra and Brisbane where property prices increased 28.8% and 27.8%, respectively.
Last year, home prices rose 26.7% in Sydney; 23.9% in Adelaide; and 20% in Melbourne.
Perth property prices rose 15.7%, while Darwin prices increased 13%.
“House price growth continues to outpace price growth for attached dwellings,” ABS Head of Prices Statistics Michelle Marquardt said.
“House prices rose 27.5 per cent through the year, while prices of attached dwellings rose 14.0 per cent.”
In the December 2021 quarter, property prices increased 4.7%, with the strongest quarterly growth coming from Brisbane, up 9.6%.
Adelaide property prices rose 6.8%, while home prices in Hobart and Canberra increased 6.5% and 6.4%, respectively.
Marquardt said the results were consistent with a range of housing market indicators.
“New lending commitments for housing rose to a record high value in the December quarter 2021,” Marquardt said.
“Days on market fell and sales transaction volumes increased.
“Record low interest rates and strong demand have continued to support growth in property prices.”
In the December 2021 quarter, the total value of Australia’s 10.8 million residential dwellings rose by $512.6 billion to about $9.9 trillion.
The ABS found the value of residential dwellings rose by about $2 trillion since the December 2020 quarter.
The mean price of residential dwellings in Australia was $920,100, up from $876,100 in the September 2021 quarter.
The record rise in property prices comes as recent research from the Property Council of Australia showed Australia would need 20,000 additional homes a year over the next decade to meet demand and address the country’s housing shortage.
However, the ABS said last week that new housing approvals fell 27.9% across Australia in January after a steep decline in unit approvals.
In addition, land prices jumped more than 12 per cent across Australia last year, marking the biggest annual price rise since 2006.
The cost of building new homes also rose 7.3% across Australia last year, the highest annual growth rate since March 2005.
Interested in the housing market? Take a look back at Australia’s biggest home sales in 2021.
