House prices through the roof in 2007

Houses prices increased by more than 20% in Brisbane and Adelaide and 12% nationally in 2007, according to new price data released today.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics figures released this morning show that national house prices increased by 3.2% in the three months to December 2007.

Prices rose in all Australian capital cities last year, with the fastest movers being a 21.6% rise in Brisbane, 20.2% rise in Adelaide, 18.1% rise in Melbourne and 14.3% rise in Canberra.

At the bottom end of the national market was Perth, with houses prices increasing just 1.1% in the former hyper-growth market. Next slowest was Sydney on 8%, Darwin on 11.1% and Hobart on 11.1%.

ANZ economist Alex Joiner says the results are notable for the big variation in price increases between the capital cities, but it is likely growth will continue overall.

“In current economic conditions, in which interest rates are rising, there are simply not enough additional houses being constructed. It is expected that this relative ‘scarcity’ of homes in an environment of ongoing strong demand will underpin further house price growth in the years to come,” Joiner says.