The figures show that the Residential Property Price Index (RPPI), a measure including houses and attached dwellings, for the weighted average of the eight capital cities rose 3.4% during the quarter and 9.3% over the last year. Established house prices rose 3.5% and attached dwelling prices rose 3% in the quarter.
Sydney continued to grow at the fastest rate across the country, with house prices rising 4.9% in the December quarter 2013, the third consecutive quarter for which Sydney has had the largest rise in house prices of any capital city.
House prices in Melbourne increased by 2.8%, Perth saw a 3.5% rise, Brisbane at 3% increase, Adelaide a 2.8% rise, Hobart a 2.3% rise, Darwin a 2.7% rise and Canberra a 0.4% increase.
Prices for attached dwellings, which includes flats and apartments, rose in all capital cities except Darwin with a fall of 0.4%. Prices went up in Sydney by 4.4%, in Melbourne by 1.9%, in Perth by 2.6%, in Brisbane by 2.2%, in Adelaide by 1.5%, in Hobart by 0.7% in and Canberra by 0.1%.
The new statistics are being published as part of the ABS program to enhance macroeconomic statistics in Australia. These new figures also include a measure of the total value of residential properties in Australia, which has risen to $5.02 trillion in the December quarter 2013, up from $4.83 trillion in the September quarter.
They also show that the average price of Australia's 9.3 million residential properties is now $539,400, up from $496,800 in the December quarter of 2012.
