With dwelling value growth having slowed over the 2017-18 financial year to a decline of -0.8% from an increase of 10.2% over the previous year, it has done little to add to sales of the most affordable properties. While last week’s Pulse highlighted how there was starting to be fewer seven-figure sales as values decline, this week’s analysis shows that the share of sales under $400,000 has continued to decline over the past year.
Nationally, 29.2% of all houses and 34.6% of all units sold over the 2017-18 financial year transacted for less than $400,000. The share of sales below this price point has fallen from 30.7% for houses and 35.4% for units a year earlier. The share of sales below $400,000 has increased slightly over the past few months for both houses and units.
An historic low 13.9% of combined capital city house sales and 25.8% of capital city unit sales were under $400,000 over the 2017-18 financial year. The share of sales below $400,000 has fallen over the year from 16.2% of houses and 27.1% of units. Although capital city dwelling values are falling, there continues to be fewer sales occurring below the $400,000 threshold.
The share of sales below $400,000 is predictably much larger across regional areas of the country than within the capital cities. Over the latest financial year, 49.6% of all regional house sales and 57.3% of all unit sales were for less than $400,000. House sales under $400,000 were at a record low and down from 51.6% the previous year while unit sales under $400,000 have increased over recent months but are lower than the 58.0% a year earlier.
Very few houses or units have transacted for less than $400,000 in Sydney over the 2017-18 financial year. Over the 12 months to June 2018, 2.5% of houses and 5.8% of units sold for less than $400,000. The share of house sales under $400,000 was an historic low and has fallen from 3.1% over the previous financial year. The 5.8% of units sold for less than $400,000 over the year was up marginally from 5.7% over the year to March 2018 but was well down on the 6.7% a year earlier.
As Melbourne dwelling values have climbed over recent years there has been a significant decline in sales under $400,000 to the point where almost no houses sell for less than $400,000. Over the 2017-18 financial year, an historic low 2.7% of Melbourne houses sold for less than $400,000 which was down from 9.5% over the previous year. The share of unit sales under $400,000 continues to fall and sits at just 21.5% of all sales over the past year, down from 28.0% the previous year.