Canberra house prices rise slightly in October, CoreLogic home value index reveals

"Increasingly shaky" buyer demand and the potential for another rate hike were dampening confidence in the national housing market, CoreLogic's October home value index stated.

Canberra reported the smallest change in home values of the capital cities with just a 0.1 per cent monthly increase in values across all dwellings - houses and units.

The slight increase was driven by house values, up 0.2 per cent to a median of $961,329.

Unit values fell by 0.1 per cent to a median of $589,348, the index showed.

From the onset of COVID-19 to the peak of the market in May 2022, ACT home values skyrocketed 39.8 per cent before declining by 7.9 per cent between May 2022 and March 2023.

Since bottoming out in March 2023, Canberra home values have risen just 1.3 per cent.

CoreLogic head of residential research Eliza Owen said Canberra had seen a "relatively low rate of growth" despite seven months of property value increases.

"[Home values are] only 0.1 per cent higher than where they were in January," she said.

"So it's a pretty soft market."

Supply continued to outstrip demand, she said. In the past three months, about 2500 new property listings were added to the Canberra market but only 2300 homes were sold.

"This is leading to a gradual lift in total listings across the market and we'll probably see vendors adjust their price expectations more as a result," Ms Owen said.

Recent auction results also showed selling conditions were "rebalancing" in favour of buyers, Ms Owen said.

Capital city auction clearance rates had dropped from the low-70 per cent range in May to the mid 60-per cent range through October.

Canberra recorded a 50.9 per cent clearance rate in the week to Sunday when auction volumes doubled.

The home value index noted low levels of property stock had been a "central feature of the housing upswing to date" but the flow of new listings was beginning to outstrip buyer demand.

"The outlook for housing markets isn't as positive as it was a few months ago, with advertised stock levels on the rise, while buyer demand looks increasingly shaky amid low sentiment, stretched affordability, and the potential for another rate hike," the report stated.

MORE PROPERTY NEWS:

The risk of a November rate rise made for a modest outlook for ACT property prices, Ms Owen said.

"For Canberra, the short-term outlook is a fairly flat market," she said.

"Then eventually once we start to see the cash rate trend a little bit lower, that's where we could see growth picking up once again."

We've made it a whole lot easier for you to have your say. Our new comment platform requires only one log-in to access articles and to join the discussion on The Canberra Times website. Find out how to register so you can enjoy civil, friendly and engaging discussions. See our moderation policy here.