Weston Creek median house prices could crack $1m in a year: Domain report

Buying a house in Canberra’s Weston Creek region is set to move further out of reach for some house hunters, as new analysis revealed the region could record a median house price of more than $1 million a year from now.

According to the latest Domain House Price Report for the June quarter, Weston Creek’s median house price rose by 24 per cent in the last year to $892,500.

Should price growth continue at the same rate or even a little slower, this time next year it would surpass the $1 million mark and join the likes of the Inner South, Inner North and Woden Valley, which all have a median house price of seven figures.

The Inner North and Woden Valley only cracked the $1 million mark this year. 

The figures came as no surprise for Weston Creek specialist Tim Burke, of Luton Properties Weston Creek and Molonglo Valley.

“Right now, I don’t think you could buy a house under $800,000 in this area. It’s an absolutely foregone conclusion,” he said.

“From a median price point of view, we only need a few houses in excess of $1 million to push that overall figure up and I think that will eventuate by next June.”

Mr Burke sold a three-bedroom property at 61 Darwinia Terrace, Rivett ーin Weston Creek ー at auction for $1.137 million yesterday, which was $137,000 over its reserve.

“We’ve sold five houses on this street within the last three months. The most affordable sale was a three-bedroom one we sold for $895,000,” Mr Burke said.

“It seems that whenever a house on this street, and in the broader region, sells, it just sets a new benchmark.”

The Domain report released on Thursday revealed that Canberra’s overall median house price soared 29.2 per cent over the year to a record-high $1,015,833, the steepest annual price growth in almost three decades.

Domain chief of research and economics Nicola Powell said the level of growth across Canberra regions was “unusual”.

“When you look at the price differences in the last year, it’s accelerated across all our regions,” Dr Powell said.

“We don’t usually see big swings in Canberra, as we would in Sydney and Melbourne, and the fact that this was the steepest growth the city has seen in its history really highlights how unusual it is – and that’s reflected in every single district.”

House hunters who initially set their sights at the Inner South are having to broaden their search further from the city centre, Mr Burke said.

“People who were looking at the Inner South started to consider Woden Valley and those who wanted a house in Woden Valley branched to Weston Creek … it’s a domino effect. This is the next best thing,” he said.

“I think the next region people would need to look out for is Molonglo Valley and perhaps Tuggeranong. Prices are determining where people are buying now and that’s really what’s pushing sales in this area.”