Property prices in regional Australia, outside of the state capitals, have increased the most in the Geelong region but sales are slower, according to the latest analysis report.
House prices in Geelong increased by 16.6% in the 12 months to August 2018 while unit prices were up 11.9%, the data from real estate firm CoreLogis shows.
Townsville and Bunbury were the only regions to see both house and unit values fall over the 12 months to September 2018, and Latrobe-Gippsland and Wide Bay were the only regions where sales activity increased over the year to August 2018.
The regional analysis on rental properties found that Wide Bay was the only region where advertised rental rates remained unchanged year on year for both houses and units. The largest increase in advertised rental rates for houses was found in the Gold Coast, whereas for units, the largest increase was seen in Newcastle and Lake Macquarie over the year to September 2018.
In New South Wales sales activity was lower year on year across all three regions in the state with the biggest fall a decline of 14.7% in Illawarra year on year while rents increased over the year to September 2018, with Richmond-Tweed recording the largest increase for houses at 4.7% and Newcastle and Lake Macquarie recording the largest increase for units at 5.3%.
All three regions across New South Wales saw growth in home values over the year to September 2018, with the largest increase for houses seen across the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie region where the median house value increased by 9%. The largest increase for units was seen across the Richmond-Tweed region, where the median unit value increased by 9.3%.
In Queensland it was Townsville that was again the only region to see values fall for both houses and units, down 1.3% per cent and 3.9% respectively while the largest increase in house prices was 7.7% in the Sunshine Coast, followed by 4.3% in the Gold Coast, 1.7% in Wide Bay and 1.4% in Cairns.
The Sunshine Coast saw the largest increase in median unit value at 5.3%, followed by the Gold Coast up 2.8%. But prices in this sector fell by 0.7% in Cairns and 0.6% in Wide Bay year on year.
In Victoria house prices increased by 16.6% and unit prices by 11.9% in Geelong while in the Latrobe-Gippsland region house and unit values increased by 6.9% and 6.4% respectively. Over the 12 months to September 2018, the advertised rental rate for units in Latrobe-Gippsland remained unchanged, while house rents have increased by 1.8% and in Geelong, advertised rental rates for houses increased by 2.9% and by 3.3% for units.
In Western Australia house prices fell by 4.6% in the Bunbury region while unit values fell 4.9%. Rental rates for units in the Bunbury region fell 1.6% year on year while house rents were unchanged.
