Australian homes rose to a whopping $10.2 trillion in total value for the first time ever in the March quarter, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. NSW accounted for 40.1 per cent of the overall amount — or $4.1 trillion, followed by Victoria with 26.9 per cent ($2.7 trillion) and Queensland with 16.7 per cent ($1.7 trillion).
In comparison, the nation’s 10.8 million homes were worth a combined $8.4 trillion in the March 2021 quarter — an incredible $1.8 trillion jump in a year. To put the values in perspective, the federal government is planning to spend a comparatively paltry $1.16bn on Australia’s space program in 2038-39.
The state government’s West Gate Tunnel Project will cost around $10bn and Melbourne’s most expensive house, Malvern’s Stonington Mansion, cost $52.5m in 2018. The ABS data shows Melbourne’s soaring median house price helped the nation reach its new high, rising 9.4 per cent to $930,000 between 2021 and 2022’s March quarters. Regional Victoria’s median house price increased 17.4 per cent to $640,000.
The median price for Melbourne apartments and units fell 0.2 per cent to $631,000.
However, the median price of units and apartments in the state’s regions grew 8.2 per cent to reach $530,000.
REA group economic research manager Cameron Kusher said the company’s research put Melbourne’s median house price even higher at $960,000 this month, hinting the nation’s $10.2 trillion property market could already be worth more. Kusher flagged the figure could change monthly depending on the total number of market transactions and big-ticket sales.