Cool August property market sets stage for exciting spring in Canberra

Property prices in Canberra dipped slightly in August, promising a busy spring selling season as confident buyers ramp up their plans to purchase and more properties come to market.

The CoreLogic Hedonic Home Value Index, released on Sunday, shows property values in Canberra dropped 0.4% in August, after zero growth in July and a 0.3% increase in June.

Among the capital cities, Canberra is the third most expensive market for overall dwellings, with a median price of about $845,875 – up 1.5% from this time last year.

House prices decreased by 0.3% in August, resulting in a median price of $967,933, while units values dropped by 0.5% for the month to a median of $579,774.

Windrose Property Principal and Licensed Agent Sam McGregor said Canberra’s stabilising market would help create a more dynamic spring selling season, and plenty of buyers were in the wings waiting to make a move.

“August is always going to be the slowest month in real estate. Everyone is focused on an exciting spring ahead,” Sam said.

“The end of winter has been slower in regards to moving stock. At the same time there are a lot of buyers sitting on their hands saying that they’re ready to buy, but waiting to see what comes on the market in spring.

“That puts a bit of downward pressure on prices in winter, but the flipside is that there are a bunch of buyers who are genuinely ready and waiting for new, amazing properties to come to market in spring.”

Sam expected that demand may still outstrip supply, with more buyers waiting for new listings than new listings coming to market.

“Potential vendors are very aware that there’s a lot of confidence back in the market,” he said. “It’s not exuberance, it’s just confidence that rates aren’t going to skyrocket or the bottom is not going to fall out of the market, so it’s a good time to buy and sell.

“In the next month or two we will see an uptick in activity because there are a lot of buyers waiting, there’s a lot of property coming, so it’s going to be an exciting spring.”

An extremely high volume of new listings were come to market in coming weeks, he said, including several high calibre homes.

“Because there is more confidence and balance in the market, the higher calibre homes are coming to market. When you have a lovely home or a really valuable piece of real estate, you only want to sell under really good market conditions,” he said.

“So, the fact that a lot of really nice property is coming to market is also an indicator that we are coming out the side. Smart vendors with quality properties are recognising there hasn’t been a better time in the last 18 months to sell.”

CoreLogic Head of Research Eliza Owen said seasonality may have contributed to weaker value growth, affordability constraints were also a key factor behind the broader slowdown.

She said migration trends had weakened in the ACT in recent years, and the territory had experienced a stronger run-up in price growth throughout the 2010s, which meant it was harder to sustain demand while interest rates are high.

“Supply is also a big factor for Victoria, where the state saw more dwelling completions over the past decade than any other state or territory. ACT also saw a spike in unit completions
from 2019 to 2023, which has helped keep downward pressure on the overall dwelling market,” she said.

Nationally, CoreLogic expects modest value increases to the end of 2024.

The report found while there is a clear slowdown in growth, buyer numbers had reduced amid high cost-of-living pressures and vendors in most markets would likely be empowered to delay their home sale if buyers do not meet their price expectations.