Canberra property prices break records in multiple suburbs

Almost 20 Canberra suburbs have hit record-breaking sales this year, including two in the past week.

Independent Property Group executive director Stan Platis said the Fisher record was broken last week with the sale of 65 Ballarat Street.

While he couldn't reveal the price, he said it was more than $200,000 over the current record.

A $2.1 million dollar sale at 10 Gillespie St, Weetangera also broke the record for that suburb, and Belconnen, Mr Platis said.

"At all our auctions, prices have well exceeded price guides and expectations. It's a strong market," Mr Platis said.

"There's buyers out there, record low interest rates, low stock levels. If you put those [ingredients] in a bowl and mix them it shows confidence in the market, it shows increasing prices."

Blackshaw Property Group managing director Andrew Chamberlain hoped Turner will be added to that record-breaking list this weekend if turnout for a five-bedroom home at 64 Boldrewood Street meets his expectations.

This weekend 120 homes will go to auction, the second busiest week this year and edging towards the Canberra record of 155 homes in April, 2017.

Record low interest rates are spurring the demand, and Canberra is also leading the nation with the highest auction clearance rate, at more than 90 per cent for the past three weeks.

Two suburbs have had their first million dollar sale this year - Theodore and Dunlop.

The median house price in the territory jumped to $855,530 in December, the steepest annual growth since 2017 at 9.1 per cent.

While unit prices have increased more steadily, the latest Domain House Price report put them at 1.3 per cent below the 2019 record high.

Mr Chamberlain said there was no end in sight to the boom.

He said the biggest increase in demand had been in "entry level homes", including former public housing blocks in desirable suburbs.

Mr Chamberlain said due to demand for three-bedroom homes which needed renovation in "hotspot areas", their value had increased 20 per cent in the last year alone.

One Narrabundah property sold for $1 million last weekend, Mr Chamberlain said six months ago it would have cost $700,000.

"The rate of growth, amount of inquiries, numbers of people registering at auctions, I've never seen anything like it," he said.

The market moved quickly, he said, and a price could change dramatically in the two months between meeting a client, and hitting auction.

Allhomes general manager Danielle Harmer said there simply wasn't enough supply to meet huge demand across Canberra.

"If we do see that supply increase, that might slow down those those price increases," she said.

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Ms Harmer said Allhomes had received record interest in new development and off-the-plan apartments in recent months.

"We know our population is going to grow over the next few decades and we've certainly got to keep up with that," she said.

While house prices have increased 50 per cent in the last decade, units have jumped only 14 per cent, with a current median of $435,410.

First home buyers make up the majority of people taking advantage of low interest rates while investors have taken a step back during the pandemic.

Grattan Institute household finances program director Brendan Coates warned rising prices would deepen wealth inequality in the long-term.

"More Australians now are probably buying their first home," he said. "Debt is easy to borrow, but you still got to have the deposit.

"The deposit means there's a growing economic divide between the haves and haves nots, depending on whether you can pull that together.

"A lot of people buying homes are relying on the bank of mum and dad."

While there has been a recent boom in young Australians settling down, home ownership among the poorest fifth of 25-to-34 year olds has fallen 40 per cent since the 80s.

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