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Bloomberg
Sydney’s home values posted the biggest rise in 10 months in May, as lower mortgage rates and a partial easing of lending standards revived buyers’ appetite.
Prices in the nation’s largest city climbed 3.1 percent in May, the fifth straight month of gains and the most among state capitals, according to research firm CoreLogic Inc. The increase, the most since July, took the advance for the past 12 months to 13.1 percent, the data showed.
The increase dovetails with the return of landlords to the market, higher weekend auction clearance rates and frenzied buying of new apartments. Lendlease Group said on Monday all 391 apartments it offered for sale on the western fringes of Sydney’s business district were sold in just four hours on May 28.
“Lower mortgage rates are likely to have a positive effect on consumer confidence and housing market conditions, with the standard variable mortgage rate now at its lowest level since 1968,†CoreLogic’s head of research Tim Lawless said in an e-mailed statement.