In the battle of capital values, Darwin scores

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By Megan Tidd

There is new hope for the housing market, as capital cities battle for the highest price jump, according to a report released last week.

The RP Data/Rismark Australian Home Value Index showed that prices have jumped an average of 2.8 percent in the first four months of 2009, with capital cities sitting at the centre of the rise.

Darwin was a surprise leader, recording a remarkable 5.3 percent rise in property value. Melbourne and Sydney tussled for second, with the Harbour City trailing behind: Melbourne logged a rise of 4.5 percent, while Sydney jumped by only 3.9 percent. Below them were Brisbane at 1.6 percent, Canberra at 1.1 percent, and Adelaide at 0.7 percent, with only Perth properties dropping in value (down 0.8 percent).

Rismark International managing director Christopher Joye is hopeful about the rise.

"Our analysis demonstrates that home values are rising in around 80 percent of all suburbs with only the top 20 percent of suburbs ranked by price suffering material falls."

Find out more about house prices in your suburb with the Price Mapping Tool

The rise doesn't count for actual property values, with Sydney's median home value still about $100,000 higher than Darwin and Melbourne's median home prices.

Overall, however, Darwin was still trumps, as the 5.3 percent rise came after a massive 14.7 percent jump over the previous year. The city also came in as the highest rental yield for units and houses, which is good news for investors.

Check out the luxury coastal life, on the cheap.

"While first-time buyer activity has certainly supported the market, people forget that 70-75 per cent of home buyers are not first-timers," Joye said, remarking that for most capital cities, continued strong rental yields are appealing to investors.

"Rental rates across Australia have powered ahead over the last three years, providing the best gross rental yields investors have seen for a long time," he said.

Nearly the only bad news the survey dished out was for Perth. Its units were the most expensive of all the cities — at a median of $441,946 — but prices were still dropping, down 5.7 percent over the past 12 months.

Still, for concerned investors, high prices and solid rental yields are welcome news.

Do you agree with the survey? Is Perth a better place to buy? Is Adelaide undervalued? Join the debate. Have your say.

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