Monday, February 2, 2009

Perth House Prices drops 6.7% in 2008

From the WA Business News: 

Perth has recorded the largest annual drop in the average house price in 2008, according to latest figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

The ABS today released quarterly results for average house prices, with the value of homes in Perth falling 0.9 per cent during the three months to the end of December.

The worst hit cities were Melbourne, down 1.7 per cent and Brisbane dropped 1.2 per cent.

Nationally, the house price index fell a further 0.8 per cent in the quarter.

Economists had expected a 1 per cent fall.

Over the year, Perth prices fell 6.7 per cent, while Sydney and Canberra prices were both off 4.1 per cent.

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is widely expected to cut its cash rate again by at least 75 basis points when its board meets for the first time this year on Tuesday.

The central bank slashed the rate by 300 basis points between September and December last year in attempts to stave off a recession.

The federal government also doubled the First Home Owners Grant to $14,000 for the purchase of existing houses as part of last year's $10.4 billion economic stimulus package, and to $21,000 for newly built homes.

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