That prices in some markets were turbo charged over 2015 is an understatement. Across the market, there was approximately $283 billion worth of property transacted across half a million house and unit sales.
Sydney saw the biggest increase in capital growth of all the capital markets across all dwelling types, reaching a huge 11.5% increase Year on Year. Melbourne was a close second moving 11.2% over the year.
These figures were tempered towards the end of 2015 as growth dipped, particularly in Sydney which trailed off 2.3% in the final quarter.
But the slight dip belies the astounding growth seen throughout the course of the year. Sydney house prices grew by 19.8% YoY to the end of July 2015, while units grew by 11.9% according to Core Logic RP Data.
In comparison, Melbourne house prices grew by 12.3% over the previous twelve months to July. Unit prices increased 4.3%
Sydney also reached an historic milestone: the $1 million median price. The median house price climbed to $1,000,616 in June according to Domain Group, making the New South Wales capital more expensive than London.
Brisbane and Adelaide were more reserved in their growth over 2015, but more consistent overall.
Growth in Brisbane was a strong 4.6% YoY by the close of 2015. Encouragingly, prices had grown 3.9% over all dwellings in the previous 12 months to July 2015 according to Core Logic RP Data. The Sunshine state capital also rounded out the year with the strongest rental yields (4.4%) of the five mainland capitals.
It’s this stability and confidence that has positioned Brisbane as one of the most attractive options for investors. While prices in Sydney and Melbourne rose, the Queensland capital received more interest from investors as a strong investment alternative. Quality of lifestyle and property coupled with more affordable prices set Brisbane up well compared to its southern neighbours and this looks to continue in to 2016.
Adelaide had a similarly steady growth over the twelve months leading up to July 2015, moving 3.4%. Adelaide also had the highest percentage of transactions up to the end of the financial year with 4.5% up in number of sales according to Core Logic RP Data.
The City of Churches also had a very strong end to the year, reaching a new record median price of $435,000 according to the REISA. Although transaction numbers did dip towards the end of the year, the final quarter for 2015 saw the Adelaide Metro median move 1.16%, and up 2.35% YoY.
Markets in Adelaide also saw some massive gains across the year, with Sellicks Beach recording an enormous 35.99% increase – in dollar terms a growth of almost $110,000 in twelve months.
2015 will go down as an historic year in property. Whether 2016 reaches such dizzying heights will remain to be seen.