Perth house prices up as nation slows

Perth house prices ticked up slightly last month but were still down over the past three months, as the national property market loses steam.

Perth dwelling values gained 0.1 per cent in September with a median of $462,783, according to the latest CoreLogic RP Data.

However, in the three months to September, house prices slipped 1.3 per cent, and were 2.9 per cent lower in the year to date.

The Western Australian capital is the second-worst performer in the nation for the year, with Darwin values down 4.7 per cent in the year to September while all other capital cities have reported growth during the same period.

That being said, national dwelling values were up just 0.2 per cent during September, and 0.5 per cent during the past quarter.

The latest data shows, according to CoreLogic head of research Tim Lawless, that national property market is losing steam.

“This slowing in the combined capitals growth trend is heavily influenced by conditions across the Sydney market where capital gains have stalled,” he said.

“Sydney’s quarterly result was the slowest since values declined by 2.2 per cent over the March quarter of 2016 and it’s the first month-on-month decline after 17 months of consistent capital gains.”

Mr Lawless said Melbourne’s housing market was also showing slower growth conditions, but was still more resilient compared to Sydney.

Melbourne prices were up 0.9 per cent last month, 2 per cent higher over the quarter, and 12.1 per cent higher in the year to date.