Canberra's housing prices rose again in March, but property data analysts remain adamant the market is losing steam.
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According to CoreLogic's monthly home price index, published Friday, the median house value in Canberra is now $1,055,812, following a 0.8 per cent increase in March.
Canberra unit values increased by 1.5 per cent to a new median value of $609,314.
Dwelling values, which combine units and houses, rose 1 per cent across Canberra to $932,704.
The national home value index was up 0.7 per cent in March, driven by growth in Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, the ACT and the regions. Sydney and Melbourne both experienced a decrease in dwelling values over the month.
For the first quarter to 2022, national dwelling values rose by 2.4 per cent, which added about $17,000 to the value of an Australian home.
This time last year, dwelling values were rising at more than double the current pace. Values rose 5.8 per cent in the three months to March 2021 and 7 per cent in the three months to May 2021.
CoreLogic research director Tim Lawless said it provides further proof that housing growth rates are losing steam.
"Virtually every capital city and major rest-of-state region has moved through a peak in the trend rate of growth some time last year or earlier this year," he said.
"There are a few exceptions to the slowdown, with regional South Australia recording a new cyclical high over the March quarter and some momentum is returning to the Perth market where the rate of growth is once again trending higher since WA reopened its borders."
The annual growth trend is expected to fall sharply in the coming months, Mr Lawless said, as last year's strong gains drop out of the 12-month pricing calculations.
A different story over the border
In neighbouring Queanbeyan, classified part of the Capital Region and not counted in the Canberra CoreLogic figures, prices are still surging.
"Queanbeyan looks like it had a strong surge in momentum over the past couple of months," CoreLogic head of research Eliza Owen said.
"Through the December quarter [dwelling] values increased 5.4 per cent and that's come up to 6.8 per cent in the March 2022 quarter.
"Over the month of March, Queanbeyan [dwelling] values were up 3.5 per cent and that's trended higher since January. This could be driven by that strong growth rate across Canberra creating that spillover in demand to Queanbeyan."
The median dwelling value in the Capital Region, which encapsulates Queanbeyan, Braidwood and Karabar, is now $745,878.
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Queanbeyan residents Tash Riley and Simon Baston have officially been on the property hunt for four months.
"We're looking for a townhouse [at a] minimum, preferably a house but that unfortunately is kind of out of reach with the current pricing," Ms Riley said.
The pair have looked in South Canberra but have now set their sights on the Queanbeyan region, where they say homes are better to suited to their budget and require less renovation work.
As first home buyers, Ms Riley and Mr Baston are aiming to make use of the federal government's guarantee scheme, which would enable them to buy with as little as a 5 per cent deposit.
In Canberra, the current purchase threshold for the scheme is $500,000, while in Queanbeyan the cap is $600,000 - giving them another reason to look on the NSW side of the border.
"Our limit is basically the limit of the first home buyers [deposit scheme] ... we're not going to go above it because we just can't financially do it anyway," Ms Riley said.
As their property search continues, Ms Riley and Mr Baston have mixed feelings about getting a foot in the door.
"Honestly, I feel like I'm not going to be happy with how much we're going to have to pay, that's probably the biggest point about the entire market right now," Mr Baston said.
"We're hopeful that we'll get something [soon] but we're realistic in the way of it may not happen in the next few weeks," Ms Riley said.
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