The quarterly rise of 0.8% was hampered only by Melbourne, down 0.3% - the only city to record a fall. 

Melbourne now has an unstratified median house price of $700,000, down from $720,000 last quarter. 

On the year, home prices increased by 4.5% across the capital cities, led by Hobart (up 6%).

The weighted capital cities index now sits at 144.3 - down from the highs of 147.6 seen in December 2017.

Buying a home or looking to refinance? The table below features home loans with some of the lowest variable interest rates on the market for owner occupiers.

Update resultsUpdate
Filters
LenderHome LoanInterest Rate Comparison Rate* Monthly Repayment Repayment type Rate Type Offset Redraw Ongoing Fees Upfront Fees LVR Lump Sum Repayment Additional Repayments Split Loan Option TagsFeaturesLinkCompare
6.04% p.a.
6.06% p.a.
$2,408
Principal & Interest
Variable
$0
$530
70%
 Featured Online ExclusiveUp To $4K Cashback
  • Immediate cashback upon settlement
  • $2,000 for loans up to $700,000
  • $4,000 for loans over $700,000
5.99% p.a.
5.90% p.a.
$2,396
Principal & Interest
Variable
$0
$0
80%
 Featured Apply In Minutes
  • No application or ongoing fees. Annual rate discount
  • Unlimited redraws & additional repayments. LVR <80%
  • A low-rate variable home loan from a 100% online lender. Backed by the Commonwealth Bank.
5.99% p.a.
6.51% p.a.
$2,589
Principal & Interest
Variable
$0
$530
90%
Important Information and Comparison Rate Warning

Base criteria of: a $400,000 loan amount, variable, fixed, principal and interest (P&I) home loans with an LVR (loan-to-value) ratio of at least 80%. However, the ‘Compare Home Loans’ table allows for calculations to be made on variables as selected and input by the user. Some products will be marked as promoted, featured or sponsored and may appear prominently in the tables regardless of their attributes. All products will list the LVR with the product and rate which are clearly published on the product provider’s website. Monthly repayments, once the base criteria are altered by the user, will be based on the selected products’ advertised rates and determined by the loan amount, repayment type, loan term and LVR as input by the user/you. *The Comparison rate is based on a $150,000 loan over 25 years. Warning: this comparison rate is true only for this example and may not include all fees and charges. Different terms, fees or other loan amounts might result in a different comparison rate. Rates correct as of . View disclaimer.

ABS head of price statistics Andrew Tomadini attributed the price falls in Melbourne to COVID-19 restrictions. 

"Property prices continued to fall in Melbourne in the September quarter ... Melbourne house prices fell 0.3% and attached dwelling prices fell 0.2%," he said.

"Residential property transactions rose in a number of capital cities in the September quarter 2020. Substantial increases were observed in Sydney and Brisbane." 

Lending data indicates the average home loan written in October was more than $566,000, with the value of new loan commitments up 0.7% in seasonally-adjusted terms.

Since September 2011, mean prices have risen 40.5% from $490,800 to $689,500, yet the ABS' wage price index has risen just 25.1% - though the Reserve Bank cash rate was 4.75% in September 2011.

Across the states, New South Wales has the highest mean price of residential dwellings at $888,900 - the lowest mean price is the Northern Territory at $425,200. 

The number of residential dwellings rose by 44,000 Australia-wide in the quarter, yet the mean residential dwelling price rose $5,400. 

Assuming a borrower had a 20% deposit on the mean price ($137,900), mortgage repayments would be $2,211 per month, using MoneySmart's average mortgage rate of 2.61% p.a. over a 30-year home loan.

This is just below the 30% 'mortgage stress' indicator using the ABS' average full time wage earnings. 

Photo by Yashi Wang on Unsplash



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