SYDNEY (Reuters) -Australian home prices rose in August, driven by increased buyer demand and low levels of advertised stock, property consultant Cotality said on Monday.
Prices increased 0.7% in August from July to a median value of A$848,858 ($551,587.93), accelerating from a 0.5% gain the previous month, according to figures from Cotality, formerly CoreLogic.
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The August result was the strongest monthly gain since May 2024.
The rise was broad-based, with prices in Brisbane jumping 1.2% in August. Prices in Sydney, Australia’s most populous city, rose 0.8% while in Melbourne they were 0.3% higher.
Hobart, where prices fell 0.2%, was the only state capital to log a decline in the month, according to the data.
Buyer demand was spurred “by a lift in borrowing capacity, real wages growth, rising confidence and what is likely to be a growing sense of urgency as advertised stock levels remain tight”, Cotality said.
“Once again we are seeing a clear mismatch between available supply and demonstrated demand placing upwards pressure on housing values,” the company’s research director, Tim Lawless, said in a statement.
The August result was part of national home prices “gradually building momentum” since the country’s central bank began cutting interest rates in February, Cotality said.
The Reserve Bank of Australia in August cut interest rates for the third time this year and opened the door to more policy easing as inflation cooled.
($1 = 1.5389 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by Sam McKeith; Editing by Jamie Freed)
