Aussie house prices have seen their biggest price jump since the 1980s, in depressing news for anyone without a rich, elderly great aunt willing to bequeath them a handy inheritance.
In 2021, house prices across the country rose by 22 per cent according to property analyst site CoreLogic, so it might time to quietly start removing things from your IKEA wishlist. Alternatively, you could also set up camp in one of the IKEA showrooms, only coming out at night like a Swedish vampire.
ATM, the median value of houses in Sydney is the highest at $1,098,412 (surprise, surprise!) followed by Canberra at $894,338, which is surely only worth it if you get locals-only access to the Questacon slide.
Third most expenny was Melbourne at $795,000, officially beating Sydney in the “most affordable East Coast capital” competition.
The national median house price is currently $709,803, which is roughly equivalent to at least two week’s worth of takeaway iced lattes.
It’s not just the cities which are experiencing rising house prices: house value has also risen in regional Australia, because it turns out there’s literally no escape. If the IKEA plan doesn’t work out, I think it’s officially time to start squatting in rich people’s coastal holiday homes.
Apparently, the Southern Highlands and Shoalhaven saw the highest annual rise in home values, coming in at 37.7 per cent, while the Sunshine Coast up in Queensland was next at 33.7 per cent.
According to the research, the regional boom isn’t showing any sign of stopping as working from home frees more people up to move out of the city.
It’s similarly mediocre news for renters, with dwelling rents increasing 9.4 per cent over 2021. That’s the largest increase since January 2008, which definitely bodes well for the millions of people who can’t afford to buy a house.
However, unit rentals have experienced slightly less growth than houses, so it might be a good idea to get on the unit trend if you’re looking to move.
With Omicron thrown in the mix, it’s unclear how exactly the housing market will look in 2022. Though with an election coming up, here’s my request to all the political parties: make housing free for everyone and throw in some bonus complementary RATs while you’re at it, pls.
