Perth’s new apartment market recorded its strongest quarter of sales since Q4 2021, with 412 apartments sold in Q1 2026 and a record quarterly sold value of $537 million, according to Urbis’ latest Apartment Essentials results.

Urbis said the March quarter result reflects strong, highly product‑specific demand across both ends of the market, from more attainable projects delivering at scale, through to premium stock being absorbed by equity‑rich downsizers.&nbsp;

David Cresp, Partner at Urbis, said the key story in Perth is not demand, it is the market’s ability to convert demand into delivered housing.&nbsp;

“This is the strongest sales quarter since Q4 2021, and it reinforces that demand in Perth is real and it’s local,” David Cresp said. “But the task now is delivery, turning that demand into projects that can actually be built and completed.”&nbsp;

[smartcode_project:default project_id=110291 project_image_fid=302785]

<h2>Affordable product leads, premium demand remains resilient</h2>

Sales in Q1 were led by more affordable projects, with The Boulevard (SKS Group) recording 115 sales in the quarter, the presentation noting this is only the second time a single project has surpassed 100 quarterly sales. The project was able to offer more affordable housing product right next to a train station.&nbsp;

Palmyra West (Finbar) also delivered strong results with 28 sales in Q1, following 84 sales in Q4, with an average price of under $800,000, underscoring depth of demand for well‑located, attainable new stock.&nbsp;

At the premium end, Urbis said downsizer demand is continuing, with the results highlighting Romeo (Applecross, Finbar) recording 75 sales and reaching almost 50% sold in one quarter.

Jual (Shenton Park, Celsius Property) also posted a strong quarter with 28 sales, reaching 39% sold in one quarter.

Urbis noted that Perth apartment demand is not speculative, not investor‑led, and not uniform, describing it as localised, often equity‑driven and highly product‑specific, a pattern reflected in the polarisation between strong “attainable” performers and premium downsizer product.&nbsp;

[smartcode_project:default project_id=148957 project_image_fid=364102]

<h2>Prices underpinned by costs, and the delivery risk is growing</h2>

Urbis said pricing pressure is cost not demand‑driven: construction costs and delivery risk are now a central constraint, with the results noting build costs remain elevated and volatile, and that energy, fuel and labour uncertainty weigh on feasibility.

David Cresp said a growing challenge for private Build‑to‑Sell developers is simply securing a builder in the current environment.

“Developers are really feeling the pressure from a building market that was operating at capacity and securing a builder is challenging,” David Cresp said, adding that even where a builder can be secured, “trying to get to the price that makes the development financially viable is incredibly challenging in the current market.”&nbsp;

Urbis’ broader WA commentary also notes that industry remains at or above capacity with lot and housing creation, and that many builders are limiting new sales to manage stretched workforces and fixed‑price contract pressures, conditions that flow directly into apartment feasibility and delivery timing.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=108869 project_image_fid=317905]

<h2>Supply: improving later, but still constrained, and Perth lags eastern benchmarks</h2>

While near‑term supply remains constrained, Urbis’ forecast shows completions lifting “Supply is forecast to be back above 1,500 apartments per annum for the first time since 2019”, with 1,775 completions forecast for 2026, and volumes remaining above that level over the following years.&nbsp;

Looking further ahead, completions are forecast to reach 2,500 in 2028, with the report noting 32% of that total is social/affordable, reflecting the role of government‑supported delivery in rebuilding the pipeline.&nbsp;

However, Urbis said Perth remains behind comparable markets on pipeline scale. In a national comparison of projects under construction, the report shows under construction Perth Build‑to‑Sell (BTS) at 3,446 apartments versus the Gold Coast at 7,922. Mr Cresp said “The challenge for Perth is how to we grow the delivery pipeline”.

Urbis’ conclusion is that Perth’s market is increasingly defined by product discipline and delivery certainty, with the research identifying “delivery certainty is key” and calling out builder risk and procurement models as core success factors, alongside “timing and staging”.&nbsp;

Joel Robinson

Perth apartment sales hit strongest pace since late 2021 as builder capacity tightens

<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developers/sammut-developments">Sammut Group</a> has secured development approval for its latest Brisbane apartment project, marking the Sydney developer’s next step in expanding its Queensland pipeline following the success of its debut Gold Coast development, Coast.

The approved project at <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-apartments/44-glen-road-toowong-qld-4066">44 Glen Road, </a><a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/toowong-qld-4066">Toowong</a> will deliver a 15-storey riverfront apartment building with 42 residences, significantly increasing the scale of the site’s previous approval for a smaller luxury scheme. Designed by Bureau^proberts, the development will comprise a mix of predominantly four-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments positioned to maximise Brisbane River and city views.

Sammut Director Julian Sammut said the group had been actively searching Brisbane for several years before identifying Toowong as the right fit.

“Brisbane was the right step for Sammut,” Sammut said.

“With the success of Coast we thought we should definitely look to do more in Queensland alone. We then pushed up to look at Brisbane. We've been looking for I'd say two to three years actually and it was hard to find the right location.”

<img alt="Sammut makes Brisbane apartment play" data-entity-type="" data-entity-uuid="" src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/f_auto,c_limit,w_1440,q_75/https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/field/image/Screenshot%202025-12-23%20at%203.27.14%E2%80%AFPM.png?VersionId=dYAVIL7qdcGA8ojvkslSrLjczXFejSSx" />

Sammut said suburbs including New Farm and Teneriffe were considered before the group ultimately focused on Toowong due to its strong downsizer demographic and limited supply of developable riverfront land.

The site was acquired off-market after what Sammut described as a lengthy negotiation and planning process, with the developer pursuing an uplift to the original approval.

“We are DA approved now which is very exciting,” Sammut said.

“We've had our change approval come through and we've obviously doubled the height, 15 storeys plus rooftop. We've got 42 amazing apartments that are going to be coming to market soon.”

<img alt="Sammut makes Brisbane apartment play" data-entity-type="" data-entity-uuid="" src="https://res.cloudinary.com/dz9xllyip/image/fetch/c_scale,w_580,dpr_2.0,q_auto:good/https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202025-12-23%20at%203.27.26%E2%80%AFPM.png?VersionId=ohkRkY0dIZlqdfME2EZePsCQavRiBadE" />

Bureau^proberts said the design responds to Toowong’s evolving urban character, balancing contemporary apartment living with the area’s established residential identity.

“A place where traditional Queensland living has taken place for centuries; Toowong is seeing a shift of contemporary influence, commercial and retail hubs mixed with well-considered residential offerings – all the while maintaining its character and charm,” the architect noted in planning documents submitted to Brisbane City Council.

The architecture practice said the project’s form was shaped by its riverfront setting, flood considerations, neighbouring building scales, and view corridors.

“They said the mix of four and two-bedroom apartments capture the ‘fundamental qualities of Queenslander living,’ translated into the context of a contemporary subtropical building.”

The development sits just off Coronation Drive within walking distance of Toowong’s retail precinct and the upgraded Regatta ferry terminal, while also benefiting from proximity to the incoming green bridge connection to West End. Sammut said the accessibility and amenity offering were central to the site’s appeal.

The approval adds to growing residential activity along the Toowong riverfront, joining nearby projects including Consolidated Properties’ Monarch Residences and Spyre Group’s ARC Residences.

Sammut secures approval for debut Brisbane apartment development in Toowong

Developer Lanevick is heading back into Sydney’s apartment market after focusing more heavily on the luxury townhouse and terrace sector in recent years.

Lanevick, founded and directed by Steve Maroun, is expecting to receive approval in the coming months for a new apartment development in Gladesville, with the aim to launch it to the market later this year.

The 51-apartment project, designed by Studio Johnston, will comprise a mix of one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments positioned toward the Hunters Hill downsizer market.

“Traditionally it’s been difficult for people in that market to downsize because there just hasn’t been the right product available,” Maroun said.

“We’re targeting buyers who might have 30 to 40 per cent of their house value sitting in the bank after downsizing.

“They still want good spacious entertaining areas, they still want quality design, but they also want flexibility and the ability to enjoy life a bit more after working hard for a long time.”

The project sits near Boronia Park and within close proximity to the Parramatta River foreshore, an area Maroun says offers more of a Hunters Hill lifestyle than a traditional apartment precinct.

“From a lifestyle perspective, it’s really more Hunters Hill than Gladesville,” Maroun said. “You’re close to the foreshore, close to parklands, and still connected back into the village precinct.”

From level four and above, apartments will capture water views&nbsp;toward Sydney Harbour. Communal amenity will include rooftop entertaining areas, wellness spaces, and a gym tailored toward owner-occupier buyers.

“We’ve really designed these apartments around that buyer coming from the Hunters Hill LGA and what they’re actually looking for in their next chapter.”

The proposed development has also been designed to respond to the changing character of the broader Gladesville town centre, where a growing number of mixed-use and residential proposals are expected to emerge over the coming years.

“Gladesville presented a rare opportunity to deliver a genuinely design-led residential project within an evolving lifestyle precinct, just moments from the growing Gladesville town centre, and we’ve approached the project with a strong focus on architecture, liveability and long-term community value,” Maroun said.

Maroun said Lanevick saw a first-mover advantage within the precinct as planning controls continue to evolve to accommodate greater housing density.

“We think there’s a real opportunity there that hasn’t really been serviced properly yet,” he said.

“There’s going to be a broader evolution of the whole Gladesville village precinct over time, particularly with more activation and mixed-use outcomes.”

The Venus Street proposal will include a commercial and retail component at ground level designed to contribute to that evolving streetscape activation.

“A big part of the thinking was how do you activate that area properly and create more vibrancy and amenity, which is what Hunters Hill has been looking for,” Maroun said.

Lanevick’s focus since 2020 has largely been on smaller-scale luxury townhouse and terrace developments. The developer recently completed Royale Randwick, also designed by Studio Johnston, where prices reached $3.65 million. The project was featured in the UDIA NSW 2026 Professional Development Prospectus and was also named a finalist for Development of the Year.

&nbsp;

Lanevick to cater for Hunters Hill downsizers with new Gladesville apartment development

Property developer One Living, backed by former Macquarie banker turned investment manager Chris Green’s investment firm, has unveiled plans to bring more institutional capital into housing to help address the national supply crisis.

The New York-based investor has focused his firm, GreenPoint Partners, on addressing the supply shortage hitting middle market housing in Australia.

It is backing the new One Living business to develop more than 1000 units along the eastern seaboard. The new firm is starting with a development on Mona Vale Road, on the border of Mona Vale and Pymble, in Sydney’s Northern Beaches, with around 140 apartments planned. They are eyeing off more sites across the city.

With cost pressures rising in the industry, One Living’s model is to be a vertically integrated developer-builder, so it can respond directly to the housing gap by removing the cost inefficiencies embedded in traditional residential delivery.

“We are building a platform designed to operate at scale and starting in a market where there’s a clear need for quality, attainable housing,” One Living joint managing director Joseph Scuderi said.

“It’s that missing middle – it’s that attainable end of housing… that’s what most Australians invest into and what Australians can actually afford.”

<img alt="Mona Vale" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="798dfa93-4941-4db6-a696-31e9dc18e81c" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-05-28%20at%202.31.50%E2%80%AFPM.png?VersionId=mKBqi5C_DmeiXS.AtJkcR8LQIxqCqmFi" />

GreenPoint Partners brings years of experience assembling and scaling real estate operating businesses across major markets. And Green sees a big opportunity in Australia.

“For its size, sophistication and importance to the community, Australia’s living sector has remained largely under-institutionalised, which represents significant opportunity,” Green said. “GreenPoint identified that gap, assembled the right team, and is backing One Living to build a platform that is aligned to market needs.”

Green said being a builder-developer would give the company the capacity and flexibility it required to deliver reasonably-priced homes.

“We want it to be at that attainable level; not super high end luxury but at that attainable level,” he said.

<img alt="Mona Vale" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="74a5344a-4b26-4d4a-ada3-056b1220be77" src="https://s3.ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/www.urban.com.au/s3fs-public/inline-images/Screenshot%202026-05-28%20at%202.32.15%E2%80%AFPM.png?VersionId=vY8hXHO4reBMdO8ZXMWCNtGZJofUPQ3j" />

&nbsp;

One Living will undertake a component of affordable housing in its schemes, which it will own and operate, and it could also run build-to-rent on some sites.

Green praised local policy settings.

“The NSW government is being very supportive, strategic and pragmatic in terms of how do we generate more supply of housing,” he said. “We think it’s actually positive for development and the bit that’s been lacking at that attainable level is that it’s lots of relatively small private developers, whereas we want to create an institutional platform.”

One Living is also&nbsp;looking at high-density projects and could take on more institutional funding in the future.

“The way we will be able to achieve economies of scale is through size,” Green added.

One Living enters Sydney's new apartment market with Northern Beaches site acquisition

It's been several years since there's been an opportunity to buy a brand new townhome in Melbourne's coastal suburb of Mordialloc. Even apartment developments in recent times have been few and far between in the area.

Local developer LDS Property identified the gap in new housing, securing a site on White Street, directly opposite&nbsp;Woodlands Golf Club Mordialloc. They've recently launched&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/new-townhouses/wm-residences-mordialloc-102-white-street-mordialloc-vic-3195">WM Residences</a>, just 13 townhouses which they have already started building.

Projects by Buxton Director Heath Thompson, who is selling WM Residences, says the townhouses x that perfect middle ground be

"Mordialloc residents have had limited options to downsize within the suburb, often forcing them to look elsewhere despite long-standing ties to the area," Thompson says.

"With very little comparable new supply coming to market, projects like WM Residences are well placed, particularly as buyers look to capitalise on current conditions amid constrained supply."

[smartcode_project:default project_id=134646 project_image_fid=6109]

The development, designed by regarded architecture firm&nbsp;<a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/architects/ewert-leaf">Ewert Leaf</a>,&nbsp;adopts a deliberately restrained architectural approach, focusing on simplicity, durability and liveability rather than overt design gestures.

The boutique scale is central to the offering. With only 13 three-bedroom residences, each home is configured to prioritise functional layouts and everyday use, supported by private terraces and secure two-car garages.

Ewert Leaf’s design response leans into a calm, neutral material palette. Interiors are defined by oak flooring, white walls and soft finishes, creating a consistent and understated backdrop. The approach avoids trend-driven detailing in favour of longevity, with an emphasis on natural light and spatial clarity.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=134646 project_image_fid=6110]

Beyond aesthetics, the homes are designed to meet contemporary performance expectations. Each residence targets a minimum 6-star energy rating, incorporating double glazing, comprehensive insulation and all-electric Bosch appliances.

The project’s location supports a walkable coastal lifestyle, sitting within close proximity to Mordialloc’s foreshore, Main Street retail strip and the train station. Local cafés and dining venues, including Suburbia Deli and Hendriks Café, are within a short walk, reinforcing the area’s established neighbourhood character.

[smartcode_project:default project_id=134646 project_image_fid=6116]

While <a href="https://www.apartments.com.au/developments/mordialloc-vic-3195">Mordialloc</a> is often defined by its beach and pier, the project taps into other areas of day to day living, offering easy access to local food, casual dining and transport, rather than positioning itself purely as a lifestyle retreat.

WM Residences reflects a continued trend across Melbourne’s coastal suburbs towards smaller-scale, design-led townhouse developments, particularly on infill sites where proximity to amenity is already established.

With construction commenced prior to its market entry, the project aligns with a growing preference among buyers for developments with visible progress and defined delivery timeframes.

[smartcode_project_cta:default project_id=134646]

WM Residences fills gap in Mordialloc townhouse market

Housing Market

<html><body>
GUEST OBSERVER
The national housing market has recorded a slight decline in median house and unit values over August 2016 according to the Residex median value index.
The falls in median values have been fairly broad-based across the country.
The August figures are detailed in Table 1 below (note that Residex median values are non-revisionary and are published monthly. The methodology used to calculate median values is different to Residex’s quarterly repeat sales index).
<a href="https://blog.residex.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/2016-09-20-market_update_residex.png" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a>
Table 1: August 2016 Median Value Index
 <a href="https://blog.residex.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/2016-09-20-market_update_residex.png"><img class="alignnone size-large wp-image-4467" src="https://blog.residex.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/2016-09-20-market_update_residex-1024x699.png" alt="2016-09-20--market_update_residex" width="695" height="474"></a>
Source: Onthehouse.com.au
Across the nation, median house values fell by 0.86 percent in August and unit values declined by a very similar 0.87 percent.
While most regions have recorded a decline in median values in August, it is quite a different picture over the past 12 months.
Median house values have increased over the 12 months to August 2016 in most regions of the country and are 6.58 percent higher nationally. In comparison, seven of the 16 regions published in Table 1 have recorded a fall in median unit value over the past year. Nationally, median unit values have increased by 2.91% which is less than half the rate of growth of in house values.
When we look at the median house and median unit data over time, it shows that house and unit values are now below their peak in all regions. The magnitude of these declines varies significantly on a region-by-region basis as well as across different property types.
Graph 1 below highlights the magnitude of decline in median house values from the respective market peaks across the capital cities and nationally.
Graph 1: Change in median house values from their respective peak to August 2016 
<a href="/images/2016/10/05/2016-09-20-image1-1024x741.png" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a>
<img src="/images/2016/10/05/2016-09-20-image1-1024x741.png" alt="">
Source: Onthehouse.com.au
Across the country, median house values are 0.9 percent lower than their previous peak. In terms of the greatest declines from peak, they have predictably occurred in the regions which have the greatest exposure to the resources sector. Regional Western Australia has been hardest hit with median house values 22.6 percent lower than they were at their peak. Perth, Darwin and Regional Northern Territory house values have also recorded substantially falls from their respective peaks, down 8.8 percent, 9.5 percent and 7.9 percent respectively.
In all other regions analysed, the decline since the market peak has been less than 5 percent.
Graph 2 following highlights the decline from the respective market peak to August 2016 for median unit values across the major regions of the country.
Graph 2: Change in median unit values from their respective peak to August 2016 
<a href="/images/2016/10/05/2016-09-20-image2-1024x741.png" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a>
<img src="/images/2016/10/05/2016-09-20-image2-1024x741.png" alt="">
Source: Onthehouse.com.au
The results show a similar picture to what has unravelled for housing, with those regions linked closest to the resources sector having recorded the greatest value declines. At a national level, median unit values are currently 0.9% lower than their peak which is an equivalent decline to that recorded for houses. The regions with the largest overall declines in median unit values have been: Regional Western Australia (15.1 percent), Regional Northern Territory (14.1 percent), Darwin (13.7 percent), Perth (11.3 percent) and Regional South Australia (8.4 percent).
Across most regions of the country median house values have recorded more moderate overall declines than units however, there have been a handful of exceptions. In Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Regional Western Australia, the overall decline in median house values have been greater than median unit value declines.
Eliza Owen is the market analyst for Onthehouse.com.au. She can be contacted <a href="https://www.onthehouse.com.au/" target="_blank">here.</a>
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jchancellor-FAypfDUnLy

Declines from property market peaks continue: Eliza Owen

<html><body>
GUEST OBSERVER
The latest CoreLogic Hedonic Home Value Index reveals further gains across most capital city housing markets last month, taking the current growth phase into its 52nd month.
Capital city dwelling values continued to show a strong headline rate of growth over the September quarter, with the CoreLogic Hedonic Home Value Index rising 2.9 percent over the past three months. The combined capital city index, which is heavily weighted towards the Sydney and Melbourne markets, recorded a 1.0% month-on-month gain, taking capital city dwelling values 41.3% higher since the growth cycle commenced in June 2012.
Growth conditions were substantially different from region-to-region. The top performing market was Melbourne where dwelling values pushed 5.0% higher over the third calendar quarter, due largely to a strong rise in house values (+5.2%) which balanced a softer result for the unit market (+2.9%). Canberra showed the second highest rate of growth over the quarter with values up 4.5%, followed by Sydney at 3.5%.
In contrast, the weakest housing market over the quarter was Darwin where dwelling values declined by 4.5%, to be 11.1% lower than the most recent 2014 peak in property values and 13.9% lower than the previous 2010 peak in dwelling values. Perth dwelling values also slipped 3.2% lower over the quarter to take the cumulative decline in values to 10.4% since their December 2014 peak, and 5.2% below the previous peak in 2010. Brisbane dwelling values also slipped lower over the quarter falling by a marginal 0.3%, attributable mostly to larger declines across the unit sector.
<div>
<h3>Index results as at September 30, 2016</h3>
<a href="/images/2016/10/04/2016-10-3--indices.png" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a>
<img src="/images/2016/10/04/2016-10-3--indices.png" alt="">
Darwin dwelling values are now roughly equivalent to what they were seven years ago, while in Perth, dwelling values have retraced back to 2007 levels.
The combined regional markets of Australia, where the measure of value growth lags by one month, saw house values slip 1.1% lower over the three months to the end of August. While modest declines were recorded across most of the ‘rest of state’ housing markets, the weakest conditions continue to be experienced in regional Western Australia, where house values have fallen 12.4% over the past twelve months. The weak housing market conditions across the regional areas of Western Australia were also highlighted in the recent CoreLogic Pain and Gain report, which showed one third of houses which resold over the June quarter did so at gross loss.
While the headline rate of growth remains positive across most cities, the majority of capital cities have seen their growth trend moderate compared with a year ago. The only capital city markets where the current quarterly rate of growth was higher (compared with the September 2015 quarter) was Hobart, Canberra and Adelaide.
The quarterly pace of capital gains in Sydney peaked over the June quarter of 2015 at 7.4% and, similarly, Melbourne’s quarterly rate of capital gain peaked at 7.9% over the same quarter.
Tim Lawless is head of the CoreLogic research and analytics team and can be contacted <a href="https://blog.corelogic.com.au/author/timlawless/" target="_blank">here</a>.
 
</div>
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tlawless-5VLUrbAk9s

Further gains across most capital city housing markets: Tim Lawless

<html><body>
GUEST OBSERVER
Housing is Australia’s largest asset class, worth an estimated $6.7 trillion, so it’s important to measure the performance of this very important asset class in an accurate and timely manner.
Recently there has been a lot more focus on the measurements of housing market performance, so it’s timely to provide a summary of the primary methods used for measuring housing market performance from a value/pricing perspective.
The complexities of property data
Before we go into the different measures, it’s worthwhile providing a brief refresher on property data which provides some background about why measuring housing market performance is a complex undertaking.
Firstly, compared with the equites markets, housing is an illiquid asset class. Individual properties are transacted, on average, every 8-10 years. The infrequency of transactions implies that the vast majority of residential properties are excluded from most housing market measurements which are reliant on transactional activity.
Secondly, housing is fundamentally nonhomogeneous; dwellings are unique in their characteristics based on their location and attributes, which makes the measurement of price and value shifts more challenging.
Additionally, the quality and timeliness of property data varies remarkably from state to state and between the private sector data providers. State governments collect a base level set of data which needs to be cleaned and augmented with more timely data and additional data sets such as attribute information to ensure a more complete and timely measure of housing markets is derived.
Regardless of the methodology used to measure dwelling price or value shifts, having housing data that is of the highest quality possible is the first and most important step in producing a reliable and accurate measure of the housing market.
CoreLogic collects and maintains the most comprehensive and current property and mortgage database, with more than 4.2 billion decision points across Australia and New Zealand that is growing in size every day. More than 60% of housing market transactions are collected directly from the industry, which provides a much more timely view of the housing market than relying solely on government provided transaction data.
What indicators are available to measure housing market conditions?
Housing market indices range in complexity from a simple median price indicators, which is subject to large amounts of bias and revision, through to a stratified median, repeat sales index and hedonic regression models. Each of these methods will provide different results for measuring price or value shifts across the housing markets.
Outside of these methodological differences, there will be further differences in results based on the data held by each of the private and public sector index providers as well as the way the data is cleaned, the sampling method, what geographic regions are being reported and what time frames the measures are reported across.
Simple median price
The median is simply the middle sales observation across a series of transactions. The median sale price is subject to a range of biases which can skew the middle observation up or down. Bias in median price can be caused by buyer types who are more active or less active in the market (for example, if first home buyers become more active there is likely to be a downwards bias in the median observation due to more transactions occurring at the affordable end of the pricing spectrum). Bias can also be found if there are changes in the types or quality of stock transacting and the median can be very volatile in markets with low turnover or where there are dramatic differences in the quality of housing. The advantage of median price is that it is very simple to compute and is easy to understand and interpret.
Simple median price measures are generally utilised by some of the real estate institutes and are still a common way of reporting price movements at the suburb or postcode level. Simple medians are useful for understanding what the middle observation for pricing is across a particular region over a specified point in time, however they aren’t all that useful for measuring capital gains over time due to the volatility and bias associated with this measure.
Stratified median
The stratified median measure, although still a measure of the middle observation, attempts to overcome the compositional bias of median price measures by dividing the market into separate strata’s, or segments, that are more alike. The Australian Bureau of Statistics, who use a stratified median measure, bases their stratification across dwelling types, the long term median price and socio economic indicators as specified here: https://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/Lookup/6416.0Explanatory%20Notes1Jun%202016?OpenDocument. The ABS index is released quarterly after a significant lag and is non-revising.
Domain also use a stratified median approach, however no documentation appears to be publically available on their method or stratification approach. The Domain index is revisionary, however there is no transparency around the level of revision between quarters. Also, Domain do not appear to release their index results in a freely available format online.
The stratified median approach is a substantial improvement over the simple median for measuring price change across the housing market. As outlined in the simple median method, despite attempts to control for bias, the stratified median approach can be affected by changes in buyer activity or inactivity and by changes in the types or quality of dwellings that are transacting in the market.
It is important to note that non revising stratified median indices will not include off the plan sales data if the sale date has occurred more than three months prior to the reporting date. The reason for this is that such data tend to be quite lagged and reported by the Valuer General after settlement, which can occur several years after the sale date.
Repeat sales
A repeat sales index relies on identifying sales pairs and measuring the capital gain across these individual resales. The repeat sales method is very useful for measuring the demonstrated capital gain across individual properties that have resold, however the method excludes all transactions that don’t have a previous sale associated with the property. Inherently, the repeat sales method excludes new properties, which is a significant weakness at a time when a record amount of new housing stock is entering the market place. Additionally, the repeat sales index can be biased by property resales that have been affected by capital works (eg renovations and subdivisions) and can also be biased by properties that are transacted more frequently such as units and investment owned properties which generally have a higher turnover rate.
Residex (which is a CoreLogic owned company) publish a repeat sales index which is revisionary and released quarterly.
Off the plan sales are not accounted for in repeat sales indices as this methodology requires at least two sales for a property to make it eligible for inclusion.
Hedonic regression
The hedonic method of measuring housing market performance aims to track the true value shifts across the overall portfolio of housing, rather than price based movements based on observations of only those properties that have transacted. The hedonic imputation technique, which is used exclusively in Australia by CoreLogic, imputes the value of every Australian dwelling each day, taking into consideration every single data point we knew about the housing market at the point in time of calculation. Factors such as lot size, the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, car spaces and whether the home has a swimming pool or view are some of the hedonic attributes factored into the analysis. Based on a flow of around 1,400 new transactions received each day as well as a constant flow of new attribute data, our most accurate view of the imputed value of the property market is updated each day.
The benefits of a hedonic regression index include the sheer timeliness of the reading (virtually a real time indicator), the lack of any bias that can push the index higher or lower, as well as the fact that the index tracks true value shifts across the entire housing asset class rather than only across those properties that have recently transacted.
CoreLogic provides free public access to a full 12 month back series of the daily hedonic index, as well as a monthly summary of the end of month index results across each capital city by dwelling type (https://corelogic.com.au/research/rpdata-corelogic-home-value-index.html). The index is published on the first working day of each month and has been independently peer reviewed and audited, the results of which are published on the CoreLogic web site, along with full documentation of the hedonic method used to build the index.
In summary, there are a variety of measures available to track dwelling prices and values across Australia. Each method presents its own pros and cons and there will always be differences in the results based on the different methods being uitlised, but also based on the differences in data quality, cleaning and sampling techniques, data timeliness, geographic context and time frames of the calculation. Other technical differences will also play out in the data based on specific ways each method treat the underlying data sets. For example, using a settlement date rather than a contact date in the analysis will show a difference in results, particularly at a time when a great deal of off the plan unit sales are flowing into the market where the difference between the contact date and settlement date could be several years.
While there will be divergence in these measurements of price and value changes from period to period, over a longer period, each of the methods used will tend to show broadly similar results. One notable exception is the presence of off the plan transactions, which will cause the hedonic index to diverge from repeat sales and non-revising median indices from time to time. Repeat sales indices and non-revising median indices (in particular based on sales data over the prior quarter) are more likely to broadly track one another because they both exclude off the plan sales.
CoreLogic privately calculates all of the indices described above, however our primary reference for measuring the change in house and unit values is the hedonic regression index thanks to the timeliness of the measure, the absence of any bias in the measurement and the fact that the index measures value growth across the entire housing portfolio rather than only those properties that have transacted.
In order to get a complete understanding of the housing market there is a vast array of other housing market measures that need to be viewed in context with indices that measure price and value movements.  CoreLogic also provides weekly updates on auction markets and clearance rates, private treaty metrics such as average selling time and vendor discounting rates, transaction numbers, listing counts and rental information as some examples.
Additionally the performance of the housing market will vary substantially across the different product types and geographically, so it’s important to analyse the housing market at more granular levels than just capital city dwelling performance.
At CoreLogic, we place the utmost importance on our data and analytics assets. 
We dedicate more than $20 million each year in acquiring and maintaining our data sets.  Our collection, analysis and research methods are audited regularly, and we are independent of any real estate, media or banking interests.  CoreLogic continues to grow with over 480 people employed in ten locations in Australia and New Zealand. Over 20,000 customers and 150,000 end users in property, finance and government use CoreLogic services and platform more than 30,000 times a day.
Tim Lawless is head of the CoreLogic research and analytics team and can be contacted <a href="https://blog.corelogic.com.au/author/timlawless/" target="_blank">here</a>.
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Property 101: A refresher on housing market measurements

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GUEST OBSERVER
There is significant local debate about how much the Australian housing market is cooling.
Various indicators are showing different trends. A prominent hedonic house price measure is showing stronger growth than the broad collection of housing price indicators. Auction clearance rates have also been high, suggesting price strength. 
At the same time, new housing loan approvals are below their 2015 peaks, housing credit growth has slowed and housing turnover has fallen. We see the collection of evidence supporting the idea that the housing market has cooled (and so does the RBA). This is welcome, after an extended period of strong housing price growth in Sydney and Melbourne.
Our central view has the RBA on hold from here. If the housing market proves to be more resilient than we expect, this would further bolster that view.
<a href="/images/2016/09/27/Screen%20Shot%202016-09-27%20at%207.54.17%20AM.png" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a>
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Australia has a collection of housing price indicators. These indices take different approaches to dealing with the key measurement challenge, which is that there is significant variation in the sorts of houses that are sold month to month. For example, if a lot of large, well-located and expensive houses are sold in one month and smaller, less well-located, cheap houses are sold another, this can have a big effect on the raw median price measures.
In this case, housing price growth would appear to slow, but this would not be a true picture of the change in price of the overall housing stock. Instead, it would be a reflection of the compositional changes in what was being sold month to month.
The four main measures tracked in Australia that seek to control for these compositional effects are a hedonic measure (Corelogic), a stratified median measure (APM), a repeat-sales measure (Residex) and the official ABS measure, which also uses a stratification approach.
Hedonic measures control for compositional shifts in turnover by accounting for things like number of bedrooms, block size and location, amongst other characteristics. The stratified approach groups houses into ten different price level boxes and then averages the medians from each box to produce an overall measure. The repeat-sales method controls for quality by tracking the same houses through time.
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At the moment, the various measures are showing y-o-y growth in national housing prices of between 7 percent (Corelogic) and 3 percent (APM) (Charts 1 and 2). On a q-o-q basis, the gap is even larger, with the hedonic measures showing more strength recently. Keep in mind that the main debate is really only about whether the Sydney and Melbourne markets are cooling, as there has been little housing price growth in other cities in recent years (Chart 3).
The gap between the measures has led to some debate about which measure is closest to the truth. A challenge has been that the Corelogic measure, which is showing the strongest growth and has typically been the one most relied upon by the RBA in recent years, has recently had some methodological changes. As a result, the RBA has become less confident about the veracity of this measure, stating in its August official statement that 'strong increases reported by CoreLogic were overstated as a result of methodological changes'. 
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Digging a little deeper into the issue (to the extent that we can without the unit records), we find it interesting that the CoreLogic raw median, which does not adjust for compositional changes, has also shown much slower housing price growth in Sydney than the adjusted measure (Chart 4). The gap between the hedonic measure and the raw median is the largest it has ever been. The clear implication is that compositional shifts in turnover have been quite large recently.
One plausible explanation is that a greater amount of lower-priced housing has been turned over recently. This fits with the fact that a lot of newly built apartments have been coming to market and apartments tend to be lower-priced than detached houses. Apartment prices have also grown more slowly than detached dwelling prices more recently. Lower-priced detached houses are also the ones that are likely to see the biggest spill-over effect from the apartment supply boost, as they are typically a closer substitute to most apartments than higher-priced houses.
Another timely measure of housing market activity, auction clearance rates, has also been high in recent months (Chart 5). This may also be consistent with the gap in the housing price measures. Auctions are more prevalent for higher-priced homes and account for only 30% of housing sales in Melbourne, 20% in Sydney and far lower rates in the other capitals. Auction volumes have recently been lower than in recent years, suggesting fewer high-priced dwellings are being sold.
More sales of lower-priced dwellings would also be consistent with the fall in housing loan approvals and slowdown in housing credit growth, as access to credit is typically a more important factor for lower- priced housing (Chart 6). The tightening of lending standards since late 2014 has also applied most aggressively to loans to investors, which are more prevalent in the apartment market.
The bottom line is that the weight of evidence suggests that there has been some cooling in the housing market (for more details on why the market it is likely to have cooled, see: 'Downunder Digest: Australian housing is still set to cool', 21 June 2016). Compositional shifts in housing turnover are making it difficult to get a clear read on housing price growth, but, importantly, housing loan approvals and credit growth have slowed. For monetary policy, the slowdown in housing credit growth is particularly important. Housing price gains are far more worrisome when they are fuelled by credit. It is the leverage that matters most.
Our central case is that the RBA is unlikely to cut further, with this call grounded in our view that domestic inflation and wages growth is set to stabilise as the rebalancing act comes to its end (see 'Australia's low inflation: It's part of the rebalancing act', 13 July 2016). If housing price growth proves to be stronger than most of the measures show, or there is a re-acceleration of housing prices, loan approvals or credit growth, we see this as likely to bolster, rather than challenge, our case that the RBA is unlikely to cut further. 
<a href="https://www.about.hsbc.com.au/hsbc-in-australia/management-team" target="_blank">PAUL BLOXHAM</a> IS CHIEF ECONOMIST (AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND) FOR HSBC. 
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How much is the housing market cooling? HSBC's Paul Bloxham

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<div>GUEST OBSERVER</div>
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 Australia has roughly “six weeks” to prevent a housing market collapse caused by the banks’ crackdown on foreign investment, a US-based security think tank has warned, according to a News Limited press report.   Quite clearly, you can tell from the website of the think tank, the International Strategic Studies Association, are not exactly experts in the field of Australian housing.   As I tweeted out yesterday, if we are truly six weeks away from a national housing crash, why are most leading indicators such as auction clearance rates and total real estate listings suggesting otherwise?   And surely we would also be already recording a significant rise in non-performing loans? The chart below shows that’s clearly not the case. Such loans, in fact, remain at low levels. <a href="/images/2016/09/15/e7a43fa6-d686-4b6d-b16d-d1e7f2464075.png" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a>
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<div><img src="/images/2016/09/15/e7a43fa6-d686-4b6d-b16d-d1e7f2464075.png" alt="">   We pretty much have had from the time the national market started to rally in late 2012, a pile of market bears declaring the imminent crash of the Australian housing market. They are, what I call, the boys who cried wolf. And one thing they all have in their favor is a media circus who will give them all a front page and reporters who rarely check their credentials, qualifications or their previous track records, which too often leave little to be desired.   I guess, in the above story at least, News Limited, who had the 'exclusive', asked for a counter view. I am also pleased to say one very major television network opted out of taking the ‘story’ any further when they contacted the SQM Research office for its view.     More than this, I am convinced there is an industry of bear spruikers who earn a living preaching the end of the financial world, and for that matter, the demise of Australian housing. Take this example from Harry Dent -   a very public figure who has repeatedly made trips to Australia preaching the end of our housing market.  No wonder he enjoys coming out here.  You see, if you want to hire out Harry for a speaking engagement, the cost will be US$20,000 to US$40,000. Not bad for a day’s pay!   I’m sure if I were to dig deeper into a number of these very public bears, we would most certainly uncover a prosperous industry. That is, so-called experts making big dollars out of preaching doom.   Now, I have always said that I have no problem with those voicing the risks in the Australian housing market. There are indeed many risks, particularly those associated with the ever-rising level of household debt to GDP and what that would mean if our country just returned to ‘normal’ cash rate settings. That would indeed likely trigger a real rise in bad loans.  </div>
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<div>These risks need to be pointed out to all participants. That, along with particular risks within the housing market, such as a clear oversupply of Brisbane CBD apartments, as the elevated vacancy rate highlights.   And for that matter the ongoing collapse of the Perth rental market, particularly in the Perth CBD itself, where the vacancy rate is over 8 per cent.   But it’s when I see headline-grabbing stories like the one above, with no follow up investigation, that I feel the public are been taken for a ride by sections of the media and by 'experts' out to grab a headline and maybe a quick buck.   Sorry to say, the great Australian housing crash predicted by Harry Dent and other so-called experts in 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017 is far from a certainty.   There are many other ways our overvalued housing market may return to some sort of sense of fair value, which could include the very ‘boring’ scenario of underperformance for a very long time.</div>
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<div>Louis Christopher is managing director, SQM Research and can be contacted <a href="https://sqmresearch.com.au" target="_blank">here</a>.</div>
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Housing collapse claims a money game: SQM's Louis Christopher

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Reserve Bank governor Glenn Stevens has conceded that he has "some discomfort' about rising Sydney house prices, but argued that these concerns need to be weighed up against the need to stimulate economic activity across the nation. 
He said the Reserve Bank remained confident there was little evidence of a widespread bubble in house prices.
Australia had a new "two speed" economy, with strong growth in states such as NSW, while resource-rich states, such as Western Australia and Queensland, had seen growth rates slump as the mining boom had ended.
Hie final interview with The Australian Financial Review, mentioned some mixed evidence as to the strength of the housing market. 
"Prices are probably rising smartly in some areas, but in other areas they're not, and in some cities in the country, they're falling," he said.
"So I think it's a mixed picture. It's not without risk, and it certainly gives me some discomfort, but then we're balancing that against the other obligations we have to pursue."
He said the RBA was tasked "to balance all these things and make a decision that neither completely ignores the financial stability and housing concerns, nor let them completely dictate the decision.
"That's the balance that we've tried to strike".
"Most of the domestic effects of cheap money comes through the household sector. Higher house prices than otherwise, more borrowing than otherwise, wealth effects, lower saving rate, etc."
But he added, "the thing that I've tried to grapple with is – that's where we get the effects, but do we actually want households to engage in a major levering-up from here?
"It's not that what they did before was disastrous – that clearly hasn't been. But from here, how much more do you want?"
"As the facts at the moment are, the credit growth of households is running about 6 percent. Fractionally less if you take account of a build-up in mortgage offsets and so on".
He added, "I don't think you can say this is a terrible risk. If it was 10 percent or 15 percent – that would be a different story".
He noted two speed housing price movements.
"It's probably not that surprising that parts of Sydney are leading the charge, because this economy is leading the country at the present time."
This, he added, is something "which, actually, we needed if we're to manage the transition after the mining boom".
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Housing markets not without risk as Sydney leads the charge: RBA's Glenn Stevens

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Due to fewer overseas migrants coming the population growth has continued to slow, according to the September.
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There was a huge increase in housing approvals during July.
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The gap between housing demand and supply continues to narrow.
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The report suggested consumer feelings remains neutral to housing prices.
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It noted the unemployment rate falls to 5.7 percent in July.
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The official interest rate cut to a record low of 1.5 percent in August.
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CoreLogic's macroeconomic and demographic indicators of the Australian housing market

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<div class="column">The Westpac–Melbourne Institute Consumer Sentiment Index rose 2 percent from 99.1 in July to 101.0 in August with the 'time to buy a dwelling index rising 10.1 percent.</div>
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<div class="column">The time to buy a dwelling index, according to the release, is now 9.7 points below long-run average but has improved 'markedly' over the year, according to Westpac.</div>
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<div class="column">It said the new record low on interest rates may also have been unnerving in terms of the signal it gives about the wider economy.</div>
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<div class="column">"While sentiment across the mortgage belt responded strongly (up 7 percent) it dipped 0.4 percent across all other groups on a combined basis," the report noted.</div>
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<div class="column">"The survey detail points to another positive rate effect from the decision by banks to raise some term deposit rates following the RBA rate move.</div>
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<div class="column">"August saw a notable 7 percent lift in sentiment amongst retirees, a group that typically reacts negatively to rate cuts (–0.4 percent historically) due to their low debt exposure and reliance on interest income.</div>
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<div class="column">"A range of factors likely contributed to the smaller positive reaction in August including the decision by the four major banks to reduce mortgage rates by 10-14bps vs 25bps in May. Against this, the survey detail suggests the decision by banks to raise some term deposit rates lifted sentiment amongst retirees, a segment that typically reacts negatively to interest rate cuts.</div>
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<div class="column">"The ‘time to buy a dwelling’ index surged 10.1 percent in Aug. It is 9.7pts below its long run average but has improved markedly over the year. Buyer sentiment in NSW and Vic have shown particularly strong improvements.</div>
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<div class="column">"The Westpac-Melbourne Institute Consumer House Price Expectations Index was flat in Aug. However, the signal since the start of the year has been of improved confidence with the index up 28 percent since the end of 2015."</div>
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 Time to buy a dwelling index lifts in August: Westpac–Melbourne Institute Consumer Sentiment Index

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A release from ANZ Research stating experts are now less sure of lower interest rates exacerbating housing market risks, and states the RBA needs to temper its assessment given renewed strength in approvals, clearance rates and prices.
According to Felicity Emmett, head of Australian economics, ANZ research, in the longer term, we think the RBA will remain concerned about the feedback from weak rents to inflation, especially given the unprecedented supply of apartments that comes online over the next two years.
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"We think that the RBA will remain concerned about the feedback from weak rents to inflation, especially given the unprecedented supply of apartments that come on line over the next two years," she said.
"We think a marked impact on rents is likely given most apartments are rented and with rents being the second-largest component of the CPI basket (there may also be an indirect effect on project home prices, which are the largest item in the CPI). 
"Accordingly, we think that the latest strength in the housing market is unlikely to change the RBA’s strong easing bias. 
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"We are surprised by the strength of approvals and new orders given that surveyed lending standards for property developers have been significantly tightened over the past two years, partly at the behest of regulators, but also because lenders are being more cautious at this stage of the cycle. 
"For example, the latest ANZ-Property Council survey reports that lending standards in Q3 were the tightest since early 2012, back when the cash rate was 4.25." 
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Housing unexpectedly shows renewed strength: ANZ Research

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GUEST OBSERVER
We all know that housing market conditions are very different from region to region, with values continuing to show strong growth conditions in Sydney and Melbourne, while dwelling values are trending lower in Perth and Darwin. 
One of the fundamental drivers of housing market performance comes back to the balance between housing supply and demand.
All too often, we reference supply levels to the amount of new housing stock that has either been approved for construction, or recently completed. From this perspective, we are absolutely seeing a surge of apartments into inner city markets across the largest capital cities. However, another facet of housing supply relates to how many homes are currently being advertised for sale.
Listing counts
Listing counts, which typically reflect how many established homes are currently available for sale (as opposed to developer stock, or off-the-plan listings, which generally aren’t advertised for sale individually on the major real estate portals such as realestate.com.au) are also an important measure of housing supply.
The number of properties being advertised for sale provides a vital clue about the direction of housing prices. Those cities where advertised stock levels remain short are continuing to see upwards price pressures, while cities with historically high stock levels are seeing downwards pressure.
Take Sydney as a case in point. CoreLogic is currently tracking just over 18,800 listings across the metro region of Sydney. While this headline figure is approximately 4% higher than a year ago, overall stock levels remain historically low. As a comparison point, when the Sydney market was moving through a down phase between late 2010 and mid-2012, CoreLogic was tracking just over 40,000 properties on the market.
<a href="/images/2016/08/30/marketTim_normal.png" target="_blank">Click to enlarge</a>
<img src="/images/2016/08/30/marketTim_normal.png" alt="">
The fact that Sydney listing numbers remains so low is one of the factors providing the upwards pressure on housing prices. Buyers simply don’t have a lot of stock to choose from, which creates urgency in the market and provides leverage to vendors when setting and negotiating their prices.
At the other end of the spectrum is a city like Darwin, where listing numbers have recently moved through historically high levels. CoreLogic is currently tracking just over 1,600 homes for sale across Darwin. Considering the past 12 months saw approximately 2,160 dwellings sold across Darwin, we can estimate there is roughly 9 months of ‘effective’ housing supply across the Darwin market.
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<img src="/images/2016/08/30/marketTim2_normal.png" alt="">
Watching the trend in listing numbers is an important aspect to understanding local housing market performance. Most cities are still recording a relatively low number of property advertisements compared with historic levels, however with Spring approaching, we are likely to see an upwards trend of newly advertised properties enter the market.
With transaction numbers already trending lower, this upswing in stock levels will provide a timely test of the market’s strength.
Tim Lawless is head of the CoreLogic research and analytics team and can be contacted <a href="https://blog.corelogic.com.au/author/timlawless/" target="_blank">here</a>.
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