Despite many experts predicting a catastrophic collapse in Darwin's housing market, property prices have continued to surge, according to the latest data from Residex.
In January, the median house price in Darwin rose by 2.44% to $450,500 compared to a month ago. Units also did well, with median price increasing by 2.83% to $344,000. All other capital cities recorded a drop in median prices in the same month.
On a quarterly basis, the numbers looked even better for Darwin. Over the three months to January, median house price rose by 5.86%. All other capital cities except Hobart and Canberra recorded a drop in prices in the same period.
John Lindeman, business manager at Residex, said that one of the reasons why Darwin's property market is outperforming is due to its strong economy supported by the resources sector.
"Unlike WA, where mining companies have either cut production or staff, not one mining company has closed or reduced output because they don't mine the sort of minerals whose prices have dropped," said Lindeman.
"The other thing is that Darwin exports is troops. All troops that go overseas to do their humanitarian projects go through Darwin. This helps the economy and keeps demand high for rental accommodation. Darwin is quite unique and doesn't show any signs of slowing. Darwin is the only one that's still booming. Rental yield in Darwin is also the highest in Australia. Everyone says values are going to fall, but there's really no reason for them to do so at the moment."
