Prime Minister Anthony Albanese owns two houses in inner-city suburbs that have enjoyed Sydney‘s strongest property price growth during a housing crisis.
Marrickville, in the city’s gentrified inner-west, saw its median house price in the year to November surge by 14.6 per cent to an even more unaffordable $2,022,621, new CoreLogic data showed.
Mr Albanese owns a house in this suburb and lived there until moving to The Lodge in Canberra in full time after winning the May 2022 election.
His pecuniary interest register shows he owns three properties, including the Marrickville house along with an investment house at neighbouring Dulwich Hill, which is rented out, and a Canberra unit.
In Dulwich Hill, house prices during the past year have surged by 19.7 per cent to $2,159,368, which means the prime minister would benefit from capital growth as an investor landlord.
A CoreLogic analysis showed Marrickville, Sydenham and Petersham, in Mr Albanese’s Grayndler electorate, had Sydney’s strongest annual price growth of 14.4 per cent in November, taking mid-point values for houses and units together to $1,694,355.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese owns two houses in inner-city suburbs that have enjoyed Sydney ‘s strongest property price growth during a housing crisis – including Marrickville (pictured) where prices have surged by 14.6 per cent during the past year
Sydney’s inner-west was once a working class area but now median house prices are typically well above the $2million mark, which is significantly more expensive than greater Sydney’s mid-point house price of $1,397,366.
Mr Albanese grew up locally in a housing commission flat at Camperdown and was raised by his single mother on the invalid pension, Maryanne.
Across Sydney, ‘s most expensive capital city market, house prices have surged by 11.5 per cent during the past year and by 12.5 per cent since bottoming out in January 2023.
This has also coincided with Sydney’s rental vacancy rate sinking to an ultra-low 1.2 per cent as 429,580 overseas migrants, on a net basis, moved to in the year to September.
AMP chief economist Shane Oliver said the strongest population growth since the early 1950s meant house prices kept rising in 2023 despite the aggressive rate hikes.
‘The supply shortfall in the face of strong immigration has had the upper had this year and should prevent sharp falls in prices, but high interest rates and their lagged impact are now starting to reassert themselves,’ he said.
House prices in November rose in Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth and Canberra even though the Reserve Bank last month raised interest rates for the 13th time in 18 months, taking the cash rate to a 12-year high of 4.35 per cent.
But in Melbourne, prices were flat at $943,725 in a city where annual house price growth at 3.3 per cent has been much weaker than other big state capitals.
Perth, ‘s most affordable capital city market that benefits more from interstate than overseas migration, had the strongest monthly growth of two per cent, as prices over the year rose by 13.8 per cent to $676,910.
But at Aramadale in the city’s south-east, prices rose at an annual pace of 21.5 per cent to $551,197.
Outside of Perth and the coastal satellite city of Mandurah, Sydney suburbs had ‘s strongest property price growth.
The Warringah area, covering Dee Why north of Manly on Sydney’s northern beaches, had an annual increase of 14.3 per cent, taking the median house and unit price to $2,067,881.
At Baulkham Hills, in Sydney’s north-west, home prices rose by 14.1 per cent to $2,021,885.
Less upmarket areas went up too with Blacktown prices in the city’s west rising by 13.7 per cent to $970,316.
CoreLogic research director Tim Lawless said home price growth in wealthier suburbs was likely to slow as rate rises constrained what banks could lend.
‘The more expensive end of the market tends to lead the cycles in these cities,’ he said.
Marrickville, in the city’s inner-west, saw its median house price in the year to November surge by 14.6 per cent to an even more unaffordable $2,022,621, new CoreLogic data showed
‘As borrowing capacity reduces, we may be seeing more demand deflected towards lower housing price points, with the broad middle of the market now recording the strongest rate of growth in Sydney and Melbourne.’
Labor lost the 2019 election under former leader Bill Shorten, who had campaigned to end negative gearing landlord tax breaks for future purchases of investment properties, and halve the capital gains tax discount for investors to 25 per cent from 50 per cent.
Mr Albanese dumped those policies after taking over as Labor leader, following a strong swing against Labor in outer suburban and regional areas but not wealthy, inner-city areas.
Daily Mail has contacted the Prime Minister’s Office for a comment.