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Canberra’s average house prices have fallen more than any other capital city in the last quarter, bucking national increases. New quarterly data released on Monday by the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed Canberra prices were down 1.2 per cent, with commentators attributing the results to year-long concerns about public sector job cuts. National prices were up by 1.9per cent in the quarter and 7.6per cent in the year to September. Canberra and Adelaide were the only cities to record falls, as Sydney and Melbourne lead the national rise. On an annual basis, Canberra prices increased by the lowest recorded figure of just 0.6 per cent. Sydney recorded the largest capital city price rise of 3.6 per cent and Melbourne prices rose by 1.9 per cent. Revised figures for the June 2013 quarter saw Canberra unchanged with a 1 per cent increase. The ABS House Price indexed stand-alone dwellings, but not units or apartments. ACT &amp; Region Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Andrew Blyth said uncertainty was the key factor in the territory price decline. “I think this reflects we were living in uncertain times for most of the year, but I think people will be looking to invest in the market,” Mr Blyth said. “There is a feeling with the election out of the way that there is now more certainty going forward, and that people potentially feel more confident about what is potentially the largest purchase of their lives. “It needs to be remembered that John Howard cut 9500 in 18 months, then Kate Carnell cut jobs too, so there was a rough time for the ACT economy but it did bounce back.” The data follows RP Data-Rismark October housing results showing the capital had bucked a nation-wide growth in home prices during October, recording a fall in values. The monthly Australian capital city home values increased by 1.3 per cent in October and 3.4 per cent for the quarter, largely driven by Sydney and Melbourne markets. Real Estate Institute of the ACT president Michael Kumm said the results reflected concern about September’s federal election. ‘‘We’ve spent most of the year in election mode and obviously people are going to be nervous and concerned about that,’’ he said. ‘‘We have noticed in the market place that it has rebounded but obviously on an annualised basis you could say that we are a conservative city and that is reflected in the figures. ‘‘The ACT’s history is that it not only catches up with the other states and territories in the fullness of time and we are probably anti-cyclical compared to them because we have other issues impacting upon us that they don’t have and vice versa.’’ Housing Industry Association of Australia senior economist Shane Garrett said bank financing policies were a leading limitation on price growth. “One of the biggest constraints at the moment is financing, people are finding it more restrictive than in the past ... with lending criteria – the banks are quite risk averse – and unfortunately housing has been one of the victims of that, particularly first-home buyers,” Mr Garrett said. The Reserve Bank of Australia is expected to keep interest rates on hold this Melbourne Cup Day.

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