After a lacklustre year of home value growth, the first quarter of 2024 has brought good news for sellers in some Canberra suburbs, where prices are on the rise.
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House values have increased by up to nearly 6 per cent in one suburb, data from property analyst CoreLogic shows.
Across all ACT suburbs, house values have risen 0.9 per cent since the beginning of the year, almost on par with the 1 per cent increase seen over the entirety of 2023.
Unit values rose by a marginal 0.2 per cent in the March quarter, though still an improvement on last year when unit values fell by almost 1 per cent.
CoreLogic economist Kaytlin Ezzy said the quarterly growth trend was "moving towards positive territory" in the ACT.
"We have seen, nationally, a stronger start to the year than what we were expecting," she said.
Property values had risen in nearly three quarters of all the house and unit markets analysed by CoreLogic for the three months to March.
Whether the trend would continue was dependent on potential changes to interest rates this year and if Canberra's steady supply of property listings started to diminish, Ms Ezzy said.
Top suburbs for house price growth
Leading the house value growth was Whitlam, the newest suburb of Molonglo Valley, where the median value was up 5.8 per cent in the first quarter.
House values in the suburb rose 21.5 per cent over the 12 months to March, with the median now sitting at $1.17 million.
Denman Prospect recorded 4.2 per cent growth over the first quarter of the year to a median house value of $1.27 million.
Ms Ezzy said it wasn't unusual to see newer suburbs recording strong growth, as more houses were built and amenities were added.
"Also, we tend to build nicer homes than we used to, so larger houses with an extra bathroom - all things that add to value," she said.
In nearby Weston, house values rose 3.7 per cent over the quarter to a median of $953,000.
Sellers Michael and Amy Brucic are hoping to reap the benefits of the price growth when their new-build, four-bedroom home goes to auction on Saturday.
Mr Brucic, who built the home, said price growth in surrounding suburbs had a flow-on effect for Weston.
"Weston is obviously a lot more central location. People are really starting to look there," he said.
The couple purchased their Fowles Street property in 2021, then "uninhabitable", for about $775,000.
Homes in the area were now selling regularly for more than $1 million, Mr Brucic said.
The couple have rebuilt a luxury home on the property, complete with a pool and an entire floor dedicated to the main bedroom and en suite.
They are hopeful it will beat the suburb record, currently $2.06 million, when it sells.
Selling agent Josh Morrissey of Hive Property said "turnkey" homes like the Brucic's, that were ready to be lived in, were in high demand.
"We're finding a lot of buyers migrating out of the inner south area and selecting Woden Valley and Weston Creek as options instead," Mr Morrissey said.
Meanwhile, house values fell in 15 suburbs in the March quarter, the data showed.
The steepest decline was in the Belconnen suburb of Scullin, where the median house value dropped by 3.5 per cent.
Unit values up 4 per cent in Nicholls
Nicholls, in the Gungahlin district, recorded the largest quarterly growth in unit values, which includes apartments and townhouses.
The median unit value rose 3.8 per cent to a median of about $836,000.
O'Connor in the inner north saw unit values rise 3 per cent to a median of $557,000, followed by neighbouring Turner where values rose 2.4 per cent to $643,000.
Unit values fell the sharpest in Lyons (down 2.6 per cent) and in Reid (down 2.4 per cent).
Ms Ezzy said unit values had lagged behind house value growth, "falling one month, rising the next".
"They've had a much harder time and a lot of that is due to [higher] supply levels," she said.