<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1"?> <docID>341556</docID> <postdate>2025-04-01 08:56:32</postdate> <headline>Canberra scores biggest increase in home prices</headline> <body><p><img class="size-full wp-image-254550" src="https://citynews.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/planning-review-houses-e1648182657485.jpeg" alt="" width="880" height="572" /></p> <caption>The lift in CoreLogic's national Home Value Index was broadly based with rises in every capital city except Hobart, along with all the rest-of-state regions.</caption> <p><span class="kicker-line">By <strong>Farid Farid</strong></span></p> <p><strong>Homeowners will have an extra pep in their step as figures show Australia's property market returning to record highs.</strong></p> <p>Values increased 0.4 per cent over March after the Reserve Bank cut interest rates for the first time in four years.</p> <p>The lift in CoreLogic's national Home Value Index was broadly based with rises in every capital city except Hobart, along with all the rest-of-state regions.</p> <p>"Improved sentiment following the February rate cut is likely the biggest driver of the turnaround in values," CoreLogic research director Tim Lawless said on Tuesday.</p> <p>The rate cut's helpful nudge on borrowing capacity and mortgage serviceability also likely helped push the average Australian home to $820,300.</p> <p>But Mr Lawless said the bump - the second consecutive monthly rise after prices slid 0.5 per cent over summer - might be short-lived "in the face of affordability constraints".</p> <p>Interest rates are still well above historical averages and price-to-income ratios remain near record highs.</p> <p>The value of owning a home in Sydney and Melbourne has risen in the last two months but remain below their record highs.</p> <p>The median home value in Sydney was the highest of all capitals, sitting at $1,104,000 in March.</p> <p>Canberra had the biggest monthly increase in home prices among the capitals, rising 0.54 per cent month-on-month in March where the average price of a home is $834,000. It is now the third most expensive city behind Sydney and Brisbane.</p> <p>Melbourne, where the average home costs $781,000, sits behind Adelaide at fifth on the table.</p> <p> </p> </body>