The RP Data-Rismark Stratified Hedonic Index shows Melbourne’s premium market recorded falls in value of 7.9 percent, followed by Melbourne’s middle market with falls of 6.9 percent.
Adelaide’s most affordable suburbs recorded a fall of 6.7 percent, while Sydney’s most affordable suburbs recorded the strongest performance over the past year with a 0.9 percent increase. This was followed by Perth’s most affordable suburbs, with a 0.6 percent increase. Sydney’s middle market grew by 0.5 percent.
Cameron Kusher, RP Data senior research analyst, says while capital city dwelling values are down 4.5 percent over the past 12 months, the performances across broad price segments of the market are diverse.
“Capital city home values have fallen across each capital city market over the past 12 months, however, when we drill down into our analysis, across the broad price segments of the market it is clear there are different dynamics at play,” Kusher says.
Dwelling values across the combined capital cities premium sector have fallen by 5.7 percent, compared to value falls of 3.1 percent across the middle market and a 2.3 percent fall in values across the affordable suburbs.
Meanwhile, Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Labour Price Index Q1 2012 data showed that labour costs rose by 0.9 percent over the quarter and were up by 3.6 percent over the year, says RP Data.
Wages have risen at a faster pace than inflation, which was recorded at 1.6 percent, over the last year. Labour prices in the public sector have increased by 3.1 percent, a slower rate of growth when compared to private sector wages, which increased by 3.7 percent.
