Login
ISCOVER
Staff Reporter
Australian house prices climbed 9.4 per cent in the year to September 2010.
According to a new survey by Canada's Scotiabank, Australia’s 9.4 per cent growth rate ranks it as the ''clear front-runner'' for house price increases against a dozen other countries.
Australia placed ahead of France with a 6.8 per cent gain, Sweden with 5.6 per cent growth, Switzerland and Britain.
Property prices in the US grew by a marginal 0.4 per cent.
But the 9.4 per cent increase in Australian prices did represent a slowdown from the 15.9 per cent year-on-year rise posted in the first quarter of 2010, with successive rate rises and the expiry of the enhanced First Home Owners Grant in January starting to bite.
A Scotiabank analyst, Adrienne Warren, said Australia's front-running status was due to low unemployment and tight supply.
But she said a slowdown in housing sales and price appreciation was expected in 2011.
JOIN THE DISCUSSION