Property wealth skyrockets by $2 trillion

The value of Australia's residential property market has surged to $9.9trillion after growing at the fastest annual pace on record.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics said residential property prices rose 23.7 percent through 2021, meaning that the collective value of the wealth of property owners increased by $2 trillion in just one year alone!

This figure is 30 percent larger than the annual output of the entire Australian economy.

Dwelling values exploded by more than $512 billion in the December quarter alone, the ABS said.

This is a staggering rise in housing wealth

It's hard to fathom the extent to which housing wealth has increased during the pandemic.

Before COVID-19, the ABS valued Australia’s residential property at $7.1 trillion.

It ended in 2021 with a valuation of $9.1 trillion.

To put it another way, the growth in property wealth in the past two years is higher than all the gains over the decade before COVID-19 (2010-2019) combined.

Hobart saw the biggest increases over the calendar year, with dwellings growing in value by 29.8%.

Canberra followed close behind, with a 28.8% increase, followed by Brisbane, Sydney, and Adelaide, none of which saw growth below 24%.

Melbourne properties ‘only’ grew in value by 20%, which was still enough to mark the largest annual value increase since the June quarter of 2010. Perth (15.7%) and Darwin (13%) rounded out the capital cities.

Mean dwelling prices

In the December quarter of last year, the mean price of residential dwellings in Australia rose by $44,000 to $920,100, up from $876,100 in the September quarter 2021.

The mean price of residential dwellings in NSW rose by $47,700 to $1,207,200 and was the highest in the country.

The second highest mean price was in the Australian Capital Territory ($979,600), followed by Victoria ($956,100).

The lowest mean price ($489,000) was in the Northern Territory.

About Michael Yardney Michael is a director of Metropole Property Strategists who help their clients grow, protect and pass on their wealth through independent, unbiased property advice and advocacy. He's once again been voted Australia's leading property investment adviser and one of Australia's 50 most influential Thought Leaders. His opinions are regularly featured in the media.