Brisbane Apartment Values Up Slightly in May

Residential property values have continued to slide across the capital cities, with the RP Data-Rismark Home Value Index recording a -1.4 per cent fall in dwelling values over the month of May.

The latest drop brings the cumulative decline to -2.2 per cent over the first five months of 2012 and overall values are down -5.3 per cent over the past twelve months.

Much of the weakness is confined to the detached housing market rather than apartments. According to RP research director Tim Lawless, unit values have been much more resilient to value falls compared to houses.  It is clear that the market is becoming increasingly price point driven. Unit values across the combined capitals increased in May and they are up by 1.3 per cent over the first five months of the year. Based on median prices, unit prices are generally around 15 to 20 per cent lower than house prices.

Investment yields also tend to be higher and units are often located more strategically compared with their detached Mr Lawless said.

Another hurdle for the property market is the large number of properties currently being advertised for sale. Based on RP Data estimates, there were approximately 308,500 homes advertised for sale across Australia during May which is almost 9 per cent more than at this time last year.  While stock levels have reduced since the latter part of 2011, Mr Lawless said that this result still represents a larger than normal pool of homes available for sale at a time when transaction volumes are running well below their five year average.

Brisbane Apartment Capital Growth/Losses to 31 May 2012 (RR Data Rismark Index)
Month 0.3%
Quarter -2.1%
Year to Date -3.9%
Year on Year -4%