Australia's house values are continuing to creep higher again, with CoreLogic's national home value index up 0.6 per cent in February.
That's a slight acceleration from the 0.4 per cent seen in January, and is the strongest monthly gain since October last year.
All capital cities recorded a lift in values except Hobart, where the market dropped by 0.3 per cent.
Housing values are slowly accelerating. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)"Housing values have been more than resilient in the face of high interest rates and cost of living pressures," CoreLogic research director Tim Lawless said.
"The ongoing rise in housing values reflects a persistent imbalance between supply and demand which varies in magnitude across our cities and regions."
Perth continues to stand out with a substantially higher rate of growth compared to any other region, up 1.8 per cent over the month.
Adelaide (1.1 per cent), Brisbane (0.9 per cent) and the regional areas of South Australia (1.1 per cent), Western Australia (one per cent) and Queensland (one per cent) also showed a consistently high rate of capital growth.
"These regions are generally benefiting from a combination of comparatively lower housing prices and positive demographic factors that continue to support housing demand," Lawless said.
Although growth rates in Sydney and Melbourne home values have leveled out, the monthly trend has accelerated, with Melbourne emerging from a three-month slump to record a small 0.1 per cent rise in February.
Similarly, Sydney dwelling values have moved back into positive territory over the past two months after recording what CoreLogic called a "subtle decline" in November and December.
"Potentially we are seeing some early signs of a boost to housing confidence as inflation eases and expectations for a rate cut, or cuts, later this year firm up," Lawless said.
Auction rates have similarly bounced back, with clearances averaging in the high 60 per cent range through February.
"Auction results and sentiment have both shown a historically strong relationship with housing trends," Lawless said.
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However, most regions are still well below the highs of last year when the national index rose 1.3 per cent in May.
"Last years' rate hikes clearly dented capital gains, but higher interest rates haven't been enough to extinguish growth entirely," Lawless said.
"The shortfall of housing supply relative to housing demand is continuing to place upwards pressure on home values across most regions.
But, he said, it was hard to expect a "significant rebound" given factors like rising unemployment, smaller household savings and a cautious lending environment.
