Australian house prices have kept climbing in January as we enter 2017, jumping 0.7 per cent for the month.
Capital city house prices for the quarter have risen 2.3 per cent and 10.7 per cent for the last 12 months, according to the latest figures from CoreLogic.
As expected, the figures were markedly different from state to state, with economic conditions and housing markets varying.
Melbourne, Sydney and Hobart returned the best figures, and Perth and Darwin continued to go backwards over the year.
CoreLogic’s head of research told ABC News the price rises were a result of a new surge in property investors.
“The pace of investment credit growth has really picked up,” he said.
“This has been a consistent factor in the marketplace since May last year and, of course, that coincided with the first round of the latest interest rate cuts.”
Mr Lawless said this resurgence in property investors could see more crackdowns from the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority on lending to property investors.
“If you look at the more recent trend and annualise that out, it does look like investment growth is probably starting to surpass that APRA benchmark at 10 per cent,” he told ABC News.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if we do see some additional regulatory changes that look to dampen the level of investment activity.”
