Australia’s property market continues to make considerable gains with the latest data from the bureau of statistics showing the nation’s 10.7 million homes are now worth more than $9 trillion.

The cumulative value of Australia’s residential property sector climbed $487 billion during the September quarter to reach a record $9,259.2 billion.

The gains mark an increase of roughly $1 trillion in just over 6 months, with Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) head of price statistics noting the previous $1 trillion gain took just over 15 months.

Interestingly, most of the total value of dwellings ($8,849.7 billion) was owned by households.

Price gains at an individual dwelling level were notable too – the mean price of a residential dwelling grew from $821,700 in the June quarter to $863,700 at the end of the September quarter.

That’s just over 5% in three months.

Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics

Dwellings are most expensive in New South Wales, where the mean residential property price climbed $65,100 to $1,118,200.

New South Wales now accounts for 40% of the total value of Australian dwellings, with its properties cumulatively valued at $3,707.7 billion.

The ASX 200 Real Estate index (ASX: AXRE) put on 1.43% during the day’s trade, with the ASX 200 A-REIT index (ASX: AXPJ) similarly climbing 1.27%.

These gains also followed the Reserve Bank of Australia’s decision to keep the cash rate steady at 0.1%, with RBA Governor Philip Lowe noting that although house prices have risen significantly in the past year, the rate at which prices are growing is beginning to slow.

“Housing credit increased by 6.7 per cent over the past year, but, more recently, the value of housing loan commitments has declined from high levels,” he added.

“With interest rates at historically low levels, it is important that lending standards are maintained and that borrowers have adequate buffers.”

Sources

• Reserve Bank of Australia, Statement by Philip Lowe, Governor: Monetary Policy Decision
• Yahoo Finance, S&P/ASX 200 A-REIT (^AXPJ)
• Yahoo Finance, S&P/ASX 200 Real Estate (^AXRE)
• Australian Bureau of Statistics, Residential Property Price Indexes: Eight Capital Cities
• Australian Bureau of Statistics, Value of residential dwellings passes $9 trillion