Nearly 30% of the 3,655 suburbs examined across Australia experienced falling property values in the three months leading to August, according to CoreLogic’s September 2024 Housing Chart Pack.
This trend highlights a growing number of suburbs experiencing a downturn, driven by high interest rates and affordability concerns.
Melbourne saw the highest concentration of value drops, with 79.1% of its suburbs recording declines. Regional Victorian suburbs followed closely at 73.8%. Notable areas of decline included Ballarat, Geelong, and Bendigo.
“While values are still rising at the national level, albeit at a slowing pace, beneath the headline figure, we’re starting to see some weakness, particularly in Victoria,” CoreLogic economist Kaytlin Ezzy (pictured above) said.
More than half of the suburbs in Hobart, Darwin, and Canberra saw property values drop, while Perth stood out as a city where every suburb reported rising values over the quarter.
This contrasts with last year’s data when 60% of Perth suburbs were in decline. Ezzy described this as a “remarkable turnaround,” with value growth ranging from 1.8% in Marmion to 10.6% in Henley Brook.
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The report highlighted that nationally, 29.2% of suburbs experienced quarterly declines in property values by August, a significant jump from 17.2% just a year ago.
In Sydney, the share of declining suburbs rose from 3.8% last year to 25.9% this year, reflecting broader economic and market pressures.
Western Australia remains a bright spot in the housing market. Of the 146 regional WA suburbs analysed, 127 recorded increases in dwelling values, contributing to Perth’s steady growth.
“In the three months to August 2024, there was not a single suburb analysed where prices had fallen,” Ezzy said.
As the spring selling season approaches, Ezzy predicts a further slowdown in property values, particularly in markets like Adelaide and Brisbane, where some early signs of easing are already appearing.
“It’s likely this easing will continue into the seasonally busier spring selling period, with additional listings putting further downward pressure on values,” she said.
Despite elevated interest rates, lending to property investors grew by 5.4% in July, marking a 26.5% rise compared to the same time last year. Investor activity remains robust, contributing to the overall increase in housing market value, CoreLogic reported.
Read the CoreLogic media release and download the monthly housing chart pack.
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