Sydney? Melbourne? Perth? Find out which of Australia’s capital cities have performed best in the property market over the past two decades.
We all love to back a winner.
Some of us painstakingly pore over the most minute details, others tend to just go with their gut.
Either way, it never hurts to have a quick look at past performance.
With that in mind, this week we’ll take a look at the Australian capital city real estate market over the past 20 years and identify which cities were the hottest performers across each market cycle.
The data, compiled by not-for-profit association The Property Investment Professionals of Australia (PIPA), has been broken up into four lots of five-year periods between 1998 to 2017.
And just a quick heads up: just like a footy premiership table, some years your team is hot, and every now and then it’s not.
2013 to 2017 increases
– Sydney (74.6%) and Melbourne (63.7%) led the way
– Darwin (-10.5%) property prices fell and Perth (0.6%) only experienced slight growth
– All capital cities weighted average growth: 48.4%
2008 to 2012 increases
– Darwin (36.8%) and Melbourne (18%) topped the ladder, but increases paled in significance to surrounding periods
– Hobart (1.9%) and Brisbane (3.2%) experienced the slowest growth
– All capital cities weighted average growth: 12.2%
2003 to 2007 increases
– Perth (139.8%), Hobart (126.4%) and Darwin (106%) property prices more than doubled
– Sydney (16.4%) and Melbourne (59.9%) performed worst
– All capital cities weighted average growth: 53%
1998 to 2002 increases
– Melbourne (88.2%) and Sydney (84.2%) led the way
– Darwin (5.1%) and Hobart (21.7%) experienced the most sluggish growth
– All capital cities weighted average growth: 70%
Additional observations
So hang on, where were Brisbane, Adelaide and Canberra?
In most periods they sat smack-bang in the middle of the table experiencing steady growth.
PIPA chairman Peter Koulizos says the stats prove Aussie investors and homebuyers over the past two decades have made solid returns across almost every capital city – not just Sydney and Melbourne.
He adds that while long-term investors invariably come out ahead with Australian capital city real estate, the biggest gains are made by identifying markets that have bottomed and are set to improve.
“Of course, many buyers don’t have access to the information or experience needed to monitor and predict property cycles,” he says.
“Investors should seek independent qualified property investment advice to give themselves the best chance of getting the best returns on their money, as timing the property market can be just as important as time in the market.”
Navigating the property market can be tricky. And sometimes you can be so caught up in the process of trying to back a winner that you don’t have time for anything else – like trying to organise finance. With investment property home loan interest rates from only 3.89% p.a and comparison rates from 3.94% p.a, we have your home loan needs sorted.