By Robert Carry

The median price of a house in Hobart has hit at $360,000 in August - beating the record of $350,000 set before the global downturn in February 2008.

The statistics, released this week by the Real Estate Institute of Tasmania, are a further indicator that the city is fairing better than many of the other state capitals.

The report also revealed that the annual median sale price for land rose 9.1% from the same time last year to $144, 688, with land sales increasing 10.3% to 32 over the same period.

Institute president Peter Bushby said that although Tasmanian property sale numbers dropped by just under 9% from July to August, they had still increased by 20.6% when set against the same period last year. He added, “There is still plenty of confidence out there.”

The report also revealed that vacancy rates fell 0.2% for the State in August 2009 to 1.9% state-wide. From last month, the vacancy rate fell slightly in Hobart, by -0.1%, while Launceston decreased by 0.2%. The North-West Centres decreased by 0.3%.

Median rental price per week for two bedroom units in Hobart rose $10 to $260 per week, while three bedroom house rental prices increased $3 to $303 per week.
Figures also revealed that 36% of Tasmanian properties put on the market were sold within a six week period. “There is no significant level of desperation in Tasmania whereas on the mainland there are serious issues with people over-committing in the first place,” said Bushby.

Bushby pointed to affordability as being one of the key factors in the Tasmanian property market's strong performance.

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