2017 a big year for Canberra's property market

Canberra’s residential market finishes the year with the third highest median price growth in the country, just behind Melbourne and – perhaps more surprisingly – Hobart.

The local surge to $714,975 sees the ACT push through the $700,000 median price mark for the first time, helped, no doubt, by record prices being reached in a number of suburbs – from Forde to Forrest.

Allhomes data scientist Nicola Powell highlights a number of factors contributing to the stellar market performance.

“We’re continuing to see migration to the ACT as people exit markets like Sydney and Melbourne for lifestyle and value reasons,” she says.

“The market also continued to perform strongly through the winter, a time when sales have traditionally wound back.”

Dr Powell adds that Canberra auction clearance rates have also remained high, now eclipsing those of its nearest capital city neighbours.

The last word on the 2017 market probably belongs to the agent behind the ACT’s record auction price for a residential sale.

Mario Sanfrancesco, principal of Peter Blackshaw Manuka, is still keeping mum on the settled price of 55 Banks Street, Yarralumla.

It is believed, however, that the 1928 Westridge House on nearly two hectares of prime land sold for more than $6 million. It was a good month for the Manuka agent, who also sold a Forrest home for $6 million in an off-market sale.

“The inner south continues to set the benchmark for Canberra property prices,” he says.

“It’s an aspirational area that draws buyers from interstate, surrounding suburbs and even upgraders from within.”

THE YEAR THAT WAS

• Prices soar. Canberra’s median freestanding house price jumped by 9.1 per cent during 2017, ranking the ACT as the third fastest rising market in Australia behind Melbourne and Hobart.
• Records tumble. The $6 million mark was hit by an off-market sale in Forrest and surpassed by the sale of Westridge House, Yarralumla, which sits on nearly two hectares of prime land.
• Inner south stars. The inner south has helped propel prices through tightened supply leading to heightened competition from upgraders and new arrivals from Sydney and other markets. Narrabundah offers entry-level opportunities.