CoreLogic head of research, Tim Lawless said: “From a macro perspective, late 2016 marked a peak in the pace of capital gains across Australia with national dwelling values rising at the rolling quarterly pace of 3.7% over the three months to November.
“In 2017 we saw growth rates and transactional activity gradually lose steam, with national month-on-month capital gains slowing to 0% in October and November before turning negative in December.”
Sydney’s annual rate of growth is now tracking at just 3.1%, compared to the peak of 17.1% seven months ago. Despite the reversal in growth rates since August 2017, Sydney dwelling values remain 70.8% higher than their cyclical low point in February 2012.
Sydney also continues to see an increase in the number of properties advertised for sale with volumes 26.5% higher than a year ago. However the city’s final auction clearance rate did fall below 60% for the final eight weeks of the year and were much lower than a year ago.