- Sam Bourgi, Economic Calendar
Residential property values in Australia developed slower than was expected in the third quarter, while sharp gains in Sydney continued to stoke concerns about an overheating market. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the house price index went up 1.5% in the third quarter, following a 2% increase in April-June. Moreover, economists in a median estimate expected a growth of 2.6%. Price in Adelaide, Canberra and Brisbane accelerated by 0.9%, 0.8% and 0.2% respectively over the same period, offsetting declines of 1.6% and 1.2% in Australia's mining capitals, Perth and Darwin. Overall, in the year to September, prices nationally rose by 3.5%, showing the weakest growth since the March quarter 2013 and well below the 10.7% gain seen in the year to September 2015.
In the meantime, the Reserve Bank of Australia has repeatedly cautioned about the country's housing market, especially in Sydney and Melbourne, where prices continue to accelerate. It is worth to highlight that Central bank policymakers lowered interest rates twice this year, underlying the challenges of counterbalancing a potentially overheating housing market with weak inflation and a rocky labour market.
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