Canberra house values up amid national decline: Corelogic

And the nation's capital may be the only capital city to escape a fall in house values due to the pandemic, according to one forecast.

It came as the national housing value fell for a third consecutive month. It was down 0.6 per cent.

Housing values were up 0.6 per cent in the nation's capital and it was one of only two capital cities where the value increased. Adelaide was also up by 0.1 per cent.

Melbourne had the steepest fall, down 1.2 per cent followed by Sydney at 0.9 per cent.

Canberra's median value is $641,360 and is up 7.2 per cent year-on-year. This value has risen by 3 per cent over the seven months of 2020.

Houses outperformed units in Canberra over July, with the value up 0.7 per cent to $718,443. Units rose by only 0.1 per cent to $444,167.

Canberra houses also had stronger year-on-year growth, up 8.5 per cent compared to 2.7 per cent for units.

AMP Capital chief economist Shane Oliver said it was likely there would be further falls in property prices across the capital cities but said Canberra values were likely to remain flat or go up - the only capital city forecast to do so.

He said this was due to Canberra's public sector employment, which would provide a buffer to falls in other private sector.

"With a big chunk of Canberrans having public sector jobs, their employment is reasonably assured and so they don't have the uncertainty overhanging them which exists in other cities," he said.

"The other thing is property prices in Canberra were never as high as they were in Sydney and Melbourne so therefore they are less vulnerable to downfalls. "

Regional markets also held up with no change in the housing value over the month

Despite the national decline house prices had remained resilient during the pandemic according to Corelogic head of research Tim Lawless.

"The impact from COVID-19 on housing values has been orderly to date, with Corelogic's national index falling only 1.6 per cent since the recent high in April and housing turnover has recovered quickly after its sharp fall in late March and April," he said.

"Record low interest rates, government support and loan repayment holidays for distressed borrowers have helped to insulate the housing market from a more significant downturn.

"Additionally, increased demand driven by housing specific incentives from both federal and state governments, especially for first-home buyers, have become more substantial."

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But Mr Lawless said the medium term outlook was skewed to the downside. He said this was because the government's wage subsidy programs, JobSeeker and JobKeeper, were set to be reduced in October and that repayment holidays would expire in March.

"Urgent sales are likely to become more common as we approach these milestones, which will test the market's resilience," he said.

"Similarly, the recent concerns of a second wave of the virus and the potential for renewed border closures and stricter social distancing polices are likely to further push consumer sentiment down.

"This is likely to weigh on both home buying and selling activity more broadly."