Canberra's property prices slightly recovered from May with marginal growth in June, while just over the border, unit values are exceeding expectations.
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CoreLogic's monthly home value index, released on Friday, shows a 0.3 per cent rise in values across Canberra houses, after they fell 0.4 per cent in May.
Canberra unit values were also up 0.3 per cent in June, a smaller increase than the 0.9 per cent growth seen in May.
The median house value in Canberra is $1,065,317, while the median unit value is $629,531.
The quarterly rate of growth has continued to decline from the highs of 2021.
Canberra dwelling values rose 1.5 per cent for the three months to the end of June, compared to 2.7 per cent for the quarter to May.
CoreLogic research director Tim Lawless said the fluctuation in value changes isn't surprising.
He said the quarterly readings show "growth is a long way from where the ACT market was rising previously".
"You go back to August last year and the market was rising 7.3 per cent quarter-on-quarter and that's now reduced to 1.5 per cent," he said.
"Ultimately towards the end of this year you will find more consistent monthly declines in Canberra."
Housing values continued to fall in Sydney and Melbourne, which saw monthly growth fall 1.6 per cent and 1.1 per cent respectively, while Hobart also posted a 0.2 per cent decline.
Brisbane housing values grew by 0.1 per cent in June, while Adelaide saw the highest growth among the capitals at 1.3 per cent.
Strong growth over the border
While prices in most of the capitals appear to have plateaued, unit values in the surrounding Capital Region are still seeing notable growth.
The Capital Region - which also includes Queanbeyan, Snowy Mountains, the South Coast, Goulburn and Yass - reported a 1.2 per cent rise in unit values - the highest rate of unit growth across all of the NSW SA4 regions.
The median unit value is currently $495,495. House values were up 0.1 per cent for the month to median value of $825,130.
The steady unit performance came as a welcome surprise to Hannah Welch, who sold her Queanbeyan apartment this week after owning it as an investment property for 10 years.
She said she didn't intend to sell the property this year but after meeting with her agent, Kelsey White from Luton Properties Tuggeranong, decided to test the market.
"So I decided to put it on the market just to gauge the interest and there was more attention than I think we were both anticipating," Ms Welch said.
"The property sold without even needing to be advertised and came down to two potential buyers, so Kelsey negotiated between both and was able to achieve a sale price that far exceeded my initial expectations."
While Ms Welch previously hadn't followed changes in property prices too closely, she said she will monitor prices and future interest rate changes as she maps out her next purchase.
"If we start to see a drop in property prices it might entice me more to purchase another investment property sooner rather than later or even give me the option to move from my current place to somewhere new," she said.
Ms White said she has noticed more buyers inspecting Queanbeyan units over her Canberra listings.
"It's not to say that there's been a dramatic change, it's just interesting to see that maybe buyers at the moment are thinking that there's better value to be had over the border," she said.
While she said a price correction already appears to be happening, Ms White doesn't expect Canberra property prices to drop dramatically.
"I think it'll hold steady. I think things will just take a little bit longer to sell than what we've seen over the last six months," she said.
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Mr Lawless noted the trajectory of property values is dependent on how interest rates change in the coming months.
"The double whammy of high inflation is another factor likely to weigh on the household sector and ultimately housing demand," he said.
"Lower savings and higher expenses along with rising interest rates will have an ongoing impact on borrowing capacity for households. Reduced borrowing capacity is likely to further diminish housing demand and potentially deflect more home buyers towards the middle to lower end of the pricing spectrum."
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