Australian house prices made modest gains in the first three months of the year but were still negative over the 12 months to March 31, a report by an online real estate data group says.
Australian Property Monitors (APM) reported that house prices rose by 0.9 per cent around the country in the March quarter but were down by 2.7 per cent over the 12-month period.
APM senior economist Dr Andrew Wilson said increased buyer activity together with rising auction clearance rates has translated into improvements in median price outcomes in most centres in the March quarter.
"The Perth, Brisbane and Sydney markets remain the best prospects for growth over 2012," Dr Wilson said.
"Although Melbourne's performance has been encouraging so far this year, this may prove to be short-lived if the Victorian economy continues to deteriorate.
"Early signs however are certainly positive for most Australian housing markets with the likelihood that buyer and seller confidence will continue to rise in 2012 after a subdued 2011."
Darwin was the star performer, albeit from a lower base - up 6.0 per cent in the March quarter.
The report said there was strong growth over the March quarter for Sydney and Melbourne, with readings of 1.4 per cent and 1.6 per cent respectively.
However, Brisbane and Adelaide reported falls of 0.3 per cent.
Average home prices rose by 0.9 per cent in Canberra and were up by 0.1 per cent in Perth and 1.0 per cent in Hobart.
Home unit prices trod water over the quarter, up by just 0.1 per cent, although this was the first quarterly increase since June 2010.
Home unit prices were down 2.0 per cent nationally for the year to March 31.
