AUSTRALIAN CAPITAL TERRITORY
CANBERRA - NO SLOWING OUR NATION ’ S CAPITAL
At this stage , Canberra ’ s house price growth is looking unstoppable . Government employment continues to grow and that has a direct impact on other parts of the economy . In June alone , prices for houses increased by 2.7 per cent while units increased by 0.9 per cent . At current rates of growth , Canberra will be the next capital city after Sydney to achieve a $ 1 million median .
What could stop the growth ? Unit price growth is more subdued , primarily because so many apartments get built in Canberra so housing supply does play a key role . For house price growth to slow more rapidly , it ’ s likely that it would take a significant hit to employment growth ( unlikely ) or alternatively an increase in interest rates .
Investing in Canberra makes sense right now as it ’ s a strong market and the outlook for rental growth is
positive . One more unusual element of Canberra is that it has a land tax system , as opposed to stamp duty . For some investors , the yearly land tax bill is unattractive but of course you then don ’ t pay stamp duty up front .
Given that most investors tend to target properties priced under the median for that city and region , the following table details the best price growth suburbs in Canberra below the house price median . It ’ s important to note that historical price growth is no indicator of future conditions however what is particularly apparent about Canberra at the moment is that house price growth is relatively consistent . And although most investors don ’ t often target yields specifically , decent yields are also available in a number of suburbs .
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