ACT property values record a steady boost in April despite a slowdown in activity as eagle eyes await Federal election outcome

Canberra housing values made surprisingly steady progress in April despite a run of public holidays and the lead-up to the Federal election creating a market slowdown.

The latest Hedonic Home Value Index, released on May 1, shows that every capital city in Australia recorded a lift in home values in April, ranging from a 1.1% gain in Darwin to a 0.2% rise in Sydney and Melbourne.

Canberra pegged gains at 0.4% across all dwelling types.

The report by Cotality, which has rebranded from CoreLogic, shows the median house price in the ACT is now $864,343 – the third highest in the country and significantly higher than Melbourne’s $786,158.

Windrose Property Principal and Sales Agent Sam McGregor said the boost in property values in Canberra after a market slowdown over the Easter and ANZAC Day public holidays and school holidays showed genuine buyers were still keen to do deals.

“There were less people at open homes in April and that was to be expected. People weren’t out window shopping over the last three weeks but people who were ready to buy were more than happy to do a deal,” Sam said.

He expected the market to pick up further after this Saturday’s Federal election, which had caused short-term uncertainty with cautious buyers and sellers temporarily parking their property plans.

“Looking at both sides of housing policy, Labor is promoting that they’ll build 100,000 new homes for $10 billion for first-time buyers,” Sam said. “That’s going to create a supply issue in terms of labour.

“If we have a housing policy that lights a fire under supply without addressing the labour demand issue, it’s going to drive values up because the cost of building will go up. That’s what we saw during COVID and the restrictions on labour supply drove housing prices just as much as monetary policy and all the other factors.

“This will flow on to the cost of established and new residential homes. Those looking to spend $1 million will read the tea leaves and probably realise that’s not an ideal situation.”

Sam said the Liberal Party promised to address the supply issue by training more new apprentices and supporting the building industry.

“That’s great, but that’s a slow policy – that’s not going to happen overnight, which means everyone is acknowledging that there’s a supply issue in the housing market right now and policy needs to address it,” he said.

“In its simplest form, if there’s a supply issue in a housing market, then values are only going to go one way and that’s up.

“Neither of these policies will work well in the short-term to fix the problems we’ve got. Couple that with the fact that there’s a prediction of between two and four interest rate cuts by the end of the year, we’re going to have cheaper money and not a whole lot more housing, which means we’re going to continue to see really strong residential housing market growth.

“That means the people who are buying now are smart, and they’re ahead of the curve.”

Cotality’s Research Director Tim Lawless said the market had been affected by slipping confidence, uncertainty over this weekend’s Federal election result and US tariffs – and further compounded by the ‘super break’ many Australians took between the Easter and ANZAC Day public holidays.

This had translated to impacts on sales and listings volumes, he said.

“The rate cut in February supported an upwards inflection in housing market conditions, but the positive influence from lower rates seems to be losing some potency,” Tim said.

“At the same time, household confidence slipped in April, with the US’s ‘Liberation Day’ tariff announcements and the upcoming federal election causing uncertainty. It is likely this may be causing some buyers and sellers to delay their decisions.”

But he expected with further rate cuts likely as soon as May 20, and a level of certainty returning to the market after the Federal Election, there should be a modest rise in values.