The combined value of Australian residential dwellings soared to a record $10.7trillion in the March quarter, according to new Australian Bureau of Statistics data.
On Tuesday, the ABS reported that the total value of homes in Australia rose by $209.4billion in the first quarter of 2024, bringing the average home value to $959,300, up $14,300 in just three months.
Of the total value of residential buildings, $10.3trillion was owned by households, the ABS said.
Across the quarter, all states and territories bar Victoria recorded an increase in average home values, with NSW recording the highest mean house price of $1.2m.
Conversely, the Northern Territory reported the lowest average value at $511,400.
In Western Australia, average house values recorded the largest increase, climbing by 5.4 per cent or $39,200 over the quarter, while the mean dwelling in Victoria shed 0.2 per cent or $1,600 worth of its value.
The number of new homes also increased across the quarter, rising by 52,700 over the quarter to reach 11.2million homes.
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However, this figure was vastly outpaced by a rapid increase in Australia’s population which climbed by 178,600 over the same period.
To hold the average number of people per dwelling steady at 2.5, Australia’s housing stock would have needed to climb by 71,440 in the March quarter.
A recent anaemic run of home starts and completions had boosted average prices even as the Reserve Bank’s aggressive run of interest rate hikes and elevated inflation which would usually weigh on demand.
The fresh data also adds to warnings from the construction industry, policy experts and even the government’s independent housing supply council that Labor will not meet its target to build 1.2million well-located homes in the five years to mid-2029 unless there is a marked increase in new home building.