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Home values increased by 0.5% in October 2016 with values 2.7% higher over the three months to October 2016

Combined capital city home values increased by 0.5% in October with values rising in all capital cities except for Adelaide and Hobart

Home values were 2.7% higher over the three months to October 2016 with home values in Adelaide, Perth and Hobart falling over the quarter

Over the first ten months of 2016, capital city home values have increased by 9.1% and Perth and Darwin are the only cities in which values have fallen

Over the past 12 months, combined capital city home values have increased by 7.5% which is trending up from a recent low of 6.1% at the end of July

Across the individual capital cities, the annual change in home values have been recorded at +10.6% in Sydney, +9.1% in Melbourne, +4.1% in Brisbane, +2.5% in Adelaide, -3.7% in Perth, +5.0% in Hobart, -3.8% in Darwin and +7.9% in Canberra

Capital city house values have increased by 7.7% over the past year compared to a 6.3% increase in unit values

Settled home sales have begun to level over recent months

Over the 12 months to October 2016 it is estimated that there were 323,000 houses and 128,461 units sold and settled nationally with house sales -15.3% lower and unit sales -14.9% lower over the year
Across the combined capital cities there were an estimated 197,108 houses and 92,986 units sold over the 12 months to September 2016. House sales are -10.2% lower over the year while unit sales are down -15.3%

It is important to note, the large volume of off-the-plan sales currently means there is a high likelihood unit sales volumes will be revised higher over the coming years, these properties will be entered into the database at their contract date but will not be available until they have settled

Selling time and discounting levels for homes have improved over the most recent month

The typical capital city house is currently selling after 39 days compared to 36 days a year ago while the typical capital city unit takes 40 days to sell compared to 37 days a year ago
The average level of discount is recorded at 5.8% for houses and 5.5% for units compared to 6.1% for houses and 5.6% for units 12 months ago

Auction clearance rates have rebounded in 2016 and have been sitting at above 75% for the past nine consecutive weeks

New and total listings are lower than they were a year ago

Over the past 28 days there were 49,431 new homes listed for sale nationally and 31,264 of these were listed across the capital cities
New listings are -2.8% lower than they were a year ago nationally and -4.1% lower across the combined capital cities

There were 238,773 total listings nationally over the past four weeks and 109,814 total capital city listings

Nationally, total listings are -2.6% lower than a year ago while they are 2.0% higher across the combined capital cities

In Sydney, Hobart and Darwin in particular there a significantly fewer new listings than there were at the same time a year ago while in Brisbane and Perth there are substantially more new listings

Economic data remain mixed
The latest CPI data for September 2016 shows that despite two interest rate cuts earlier this year, inflation remains stubbornly low and below the RBA’s target range
New lending to both investors and owner occupiers has fallen from recent peaks with investor lending recording a much greater decline however, investment lending increased in August as owner occupier lending slowed 

Total housing credit is rising and although annual investment credit growth has slowed and is now well below APRAs 10% threshold for annual growth, monthly data shows growth in investor credit has picked-up over the past five months

The rate of population growth at a national level is lower than recent highs but has steadied over recent quarters thanks to improving net overseas migration

Dwelling approvals fell in September, dragged lower by units however approvals remain high on an historic basis

Consumer sentiment remains at a fairly neutral setting although it has been more optimistic than pessimistic for three consecutive months

The unemployment rate was recorded at 5.6% in September although employment growth over the past year has exclusively been driven by part-time job creation

The Reserve Bank left official interest rates on hold at 1.5% in November 2016

Commodity prices remain well below their previous peaks however, they have increased by 29% since January of this year.

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