House prices tumble in million-dollar Canberra suburbs

House prices in Canberra’s million-dollar suburbs have taken a tumble, despite the capital’s market flatlining over the past 12 months.

O’Connor houses have fallen the most with a 13.7 per cent drop. The median house price is almost below the million-dollar mark, the Domain House Price Report, June quarter shows.

This is followed by Ainslie, which is down 7.5 per cent year-on-year. The decline comes on the back of a 30 per cent growth in the suburb last year.

Griffith’s median of $1.431 million is down 5.5 per cent.

Top 5 Canberra suburbs for house price declines 

The data is based on suburbs with more than 50 sales in houses or units over the 12 months to June 2019. Only 26 suburbs fit into this category for houses and 16 for units.

While the city’s more expensive suburbs have declined, most of the strongest growth has been in suburbs with a median house price below $600,000.

Latham, in Belconnen, experienced the highest growth, with the median house price of $595,000 up 11.2 per cent year-on-year. It  was followed by Calwell, up 8.9 per cent, and Macgregor, up 7.9 per cent.

Top 5 Canberra suburbs for house price growth 

The concentration of growth in these suburbs could be due to first-home buyers, Domain economist Trent Wiltshire said.

“Stronger price growth in cheaper suburbs might be a sign that first-home buyers, who typically buy less expensive homes, are more active than other buyers while the market is a bit softer,” he said.

The time period does not capture the stamp duty changes for first-home buyers in the ACT.

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John and Beth Tait are currently selling their three-bedroom Latham house. They are moving on after spending almost 40 years in the suburb.

“Latham is a lovely suburb with lots of open spaces and natural areas around the creek,” Mrs Tait said.

Their home is set to be auctioned in two weeks. There was no strategic move in capitalising on the suburb’s growth, and they said it was “right time for us to sell”.

They have done their research in the lead-up to it.

“We’ve been watching the market in Latham and the surrounding suburbs for a while [and] over that time we have visited a number of open homes similar to our home,” Mrs Tait said.

Gerard Northey of Ray White Canberra is the selling agent for the Taits’ property. He said Latham’s growth can be attributed to a range of factors including a lack of available stock at any given time, quality homes cheaper than Canberra’s median, and a friendly community.

“The suburb is home to properties that offer the true Australian dream – large blocks, established gardens, close to plenty of parks plus solid homes designed with traditional family-friendly floor plans,” he said. 

Mr Northey said the suburb attracts many different buyer types.

“I have sold a range of homes in Latham from smaller family homes to larger family homes and a couple of quality, single-level townhouses,” he said.

“From that experience, I have seen everyone come through from first-home buyers, singles, young couples, extended families, young professionals, investors, downsizers and ‘right sizers’.

“A larger and more diverse buyer pool generates more interest which creates more competition – more buyers and lower stock levels drive the prices.”

In the unit market, the City saw the steepest decline. Its median of $490,000 is down 14 per cent year-on-year.

Top 5 Canberra suburbs for unit price decline 

Bruce had a drop of 12.8 per cent and Harrison dipped 7.7 per cent.

Campbell units surged over the year, up 18.1 per cent with a median of $637,500. Project marketing manager at JWLand Dallas Harry said land opportunities for residential apartment blocks in Campbell were limited.

“There is a scarcity of land in Campbell, it’s not like Kingston or the City where there’s potential for hundreds of more apartments. Comparing Campbell to the rest of Canberra, there’s not much on offer,” he said.

Despite a lacklustre performance in recent times, Phillip units saw an increase of 14.4 per cent, but the increase to the suburb’s median unit price ($375,000) brought it back to where it was five years ago.

Top five Canberra suburbs for unit price growth 

Greenway continued to be a top performer, up 6.2 per cent.

Overall, Canberra’s median house price of $741,947 dropped 0.1 per cent over the 12 months to June 2019, and units increased 1.9 per cent.