Not getting into the bulls/bear argument , just sharing info.
Note the last line about house prices and inflation .
From today's Age newspaper online:
Experts say Australia's property market has fully recovered with strong price growth over the June quarter.
Between April and June this year, house prices jumped by 2.8 per cent – the best result since March 2010.
House prices have now been accelerating for three consecutive quarters, data from Australian Property Monitors shows.
The senior economist at APM, Andrew Wilson, says the national housing market has "fully recovered". Advertisement
"Jet-propelled by the lowest interest rates in decades, rising confidence and continued generally solid economic performances, buyer activity in most capital city housing markets is now charging towards record levels," he said.
The deputy chairman of L J Hooker, L Janusz Hooker, says the recovery period is over.
"We are well past the recovery mode and are moving into a growth stage," he said.
Sydney, Perth and Canberra recorded the highest-ever median house prices over the June quarter with Melbourne fast approaching its previous price peak.
Strong investor activity and low listing numbers saw the Sydney house median increase by 2.7 per cent to $690,064.
Melbourne was the strongest performing city with 5 per cent growth over the quarter. Melbourne's median house price is now $553,447.
Dr Andrew Wilson said the Melbourne market was still 1.4 per cent behind its previous peak in June 2010 but was quickly "playing catch-up".
Apartment prices in Melbourne also grew by a solid 3.7 per cent to a new median of $411,714. That remains behind Sydney's apartment median, which grew 2.7 per cent to a new high of $491,845.
Despite falling by 2.1 per cent, Darwin remains Australia's second most expensive city with a median house price of $640,665.
Darwin's housing shortage and exposure to the resources sector means house prices are high but volatile.
Perth had strong house price growth of 3.2 per cent while Brisbane rose just 0.3 per cent.
Mr Hooker said one of the key drivers was the level of investors in the market, which now represent half of all buyers.
"It is an extraordinary phenomenon that we haven't seen for some time," he said.
"People are believing the 'capital growth story' again."
Year on year house prices in Australia's capital cities have jumped by 5.4 per cent – more than twice the rate of inflation.
