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Date Published : Thursday, May 01, 2008
High interest rates have started to take their toll on house values, as new data reveals the average prices of homes across Australia fell during March.
According to researcher Australian Property Monitors (APM), house prices in Hobart fell by as much as 3.4 per cent during March - the same month where the Reserve Bank of Australia increased the base rate of interest to 7.25 per cent.
A slowing in the amount of home loans taken out by housebuyers has also been noted nationwide by APM.
Meanwhile, prices in Sydney and Canberra fell by 0.4 per cent to an average of $550,890 and $494,456 respectively, while a 0.3 per cent drop in the value of the average home was recorded in Perth, where a property now costs a median of $513,771, the Australian reports.
APM general manager Michael McNamara told the publication: "A lot of sellers are sitting on their hands, holding out for a price, but there are also quite a number of distressed sellers adding to the volume on the market."
Last week, the Real Estate Institute of Victoria (REIV) said Melbourne's median house price fell 8.4 per cent over the March quarter.
The REIV, a real estate agents' industry body, had a far more bearish view than APM, which found Melbourne's house prices static at a 0.3 per cent increase.
REIV chief executive Enzo Raimondo said: "Increasing interest rates, coupled with the changing economic conditions, have affected confidence, transaction numbers and clearance rates, all of which have combined to cool the market since the beginning of 2008."
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