RP Data-Rismark March Hedonic Home Value Index Results

National Media Release

Capital gains over the March quarter the highest since May 2010

Dwelling values posted a solid rise over the month of

March, increasing by 1.3 percent across the

combined capital city index. The positive conditions

were broad based, with every capital city recording a

rise, apart from Adelaide where the market remained

steady over the month. Perth has recorded the

highest level of growth over the month with dwelling

values surging 3.4 per cent. Hobart and Darwin also

recorded a large lift in dwelling values, rising 2.5 per

cent and 2.4 per cent respectively over the month.

Every capital city apart from Adelaide (-0.5%) has

seen dwelling values rise over the past quarter. Over

the past 12 months the only capital city not to

experience a rise in values was Hobart (-1.2%).

Rismark International CEO Ben Skilbeck

commented, “The March 2013 result is one of the

strongest we’ve seen over the 3 years since March

2010. Not only were there no value falls recorded

across the capital cities, but, over the past 3 years,

the all dwellings result of +1.32 per cent for the

month was second only to the +1.40 per cent

increase observed in September 2012. Further, it

was the strongest quarterly growth seen since the 3

month period ending May 2010.”

RP Data research director Tim Lawless said, “Since

the capital city housing market bottomed out at the

end of May last year we have seen dwelling values

rise by 4.7 per cent after falling by 7.4 per cent from

their market peak back in late 2010. The most

significant recoveries have been recorded across

Darwin where values have risen 13.9 per cent since

bottoming out in January last year, and Perth where

values are up 9.4 per cent since the market trough in

November 2011.”

“Both these cities are recording rental growth higher

than 10 per cent year on year which is providing a

significantly higher total return compared with other

cities. The RP Data-Rismark Accumulation Index,

which factors in the gross yield as well as capital

gains, is showing a total year on year gross return in

Darwin of 13.9 percent and Perth is recording a total

gross return of 10.6 per cent, both significantly higher

than the combined capitals average of 6.9 per cent

gross,” Mr Lawless said.

% change in dwelling values from market trough to March 2013

www.rpdata.com/indices

Dwelling values across the combined capital cities of Australia recorded a 2.8% rise over the March

quarter, taking the cumulative capital gain to 4.7% since the market bottomed out in May last year.

Released: Tuesday, April 2 Further information contact: rpdata.com – Mitch Koper – 0417 771 778

Highlights over the quarter

Best performing capital city: Hobart +6.1 per cent

Weakest performing capital city: Adelaide, -0.5 per cent

Highest rental yields: Darwin houses with gross rental yield of 6.0 per

cent and Darwin Units at 6.3 per cent

Lowest rental yields: Melbourne houses with gross rental yield of 3.6 per

cent and Melbourne units at 4.4 per cent

Most expensive city: Sydney with a median dwelling price of $550,500

Most affordable city: Hobart with a median dwelling price of $332,500

Source: RP Data–Rismark

* Rest of state change in values are for houses only to end of February

% change in dwelling values, market peak to March 2013

Index results as at March 31, 2013

Media enquiries: RP Data: Mitch Koper – 0417 771 778

Region Month Quarter YoY

Sydney 1.5% 3.4% 3.8% 8.5% $550,500

Melbourne 0.8% 2.5% 0.3% 4.1% $475,000

Brisbane 1.0% 1.9% 1.4% 6.4% $415,000

Adelaide 0.0% -0.5% 0.3% 4.7% $373,000

Perth 3.4% 4.3% 5.8% 10.6% $479,000

Hobart 2.5% 6.1% -1.2% 4.1% $332,500

Darwin 2.4% 2.4% 7.3% 13.9% $516,713

Canberra 0.4% 3.8% 3.4% 8.4% $505,000

8 capital city aggregate 1.3% 2.8% 2.4% 6.9% $465,000

Rest of state* -1.0% -1.1% -0.7% $328,000

Change in dwelling values Total gross

returns

Median

dwelling price

Sydney values are 0.1% higher

than their previous peak

National Media Release (Cont’d)

Across the broad price segments, it looks as if the middle priced housing sector is continuing to show the

healthiest market fundamentals. Based on the RP Data-Rismark Stratified Hedonic Index, dwelling values

across the middle sixty per cent of the housing market have increased by 1.6 per cent over the year to February,

compared with a 0.9 per cent fall in dwelling values at the most affordable end of the housing market, and a 0.6

per cent fall at the most expensive end of the pricing spectrum.

According to Rismark’s Ben Skilbeck, a review of housing credit aggregates indicates that the investor segment

of the housing market is showing greater responsiveness to the low interest rate environment than the owner

occupier segment. Credit growth for the 12 months to end February was 3.9 per cent in the owner occupied

segment compared to the investor segment at 5.6 per cent.

“With gross capital city unit rental yields now at 4.9 per cent, and a number of short term fixed rate loans also

being offered at these levels, it’s not surprising to see investors responding to these conditions more quickly than

owner occupiers”.

Apart from the capital gains being recorded across the housing market, other indicators are continuing to

suggest the housing market recovery will continue. Mr Lawless points out that both auction market and private

treaty indicators are showing strong results. RP Data’s mortgage platforms have also shown a surge in activity.

“Auction clearance rates haven’t been below 55 per cent on any occasion so far this year, and over recent

weeks the capital city weighted average clearance rate has been around the 60 percent mark with Melbourne

and Sydney nudging the 70 mark. Additionally, vendors selling their homes by private treaty have been

discounting their prices by a lesser amount in order to make a sale. The average selling time was consistently

shortening prior to the Christmas / New Year slow down.”

“RP Data’s Mortgage Index, which tracks activity across the RP Data mortgage platforms, reached levels not

seen since August 2009, suggesting housing finance commitments are likely to show a decent lift when the ABS

publishes the data for February and March later this year.”

Media enquiries contact:

Mitch Koper, National Media & Communications Manager 0417 771 778 or mitch.koper@rpdata.com

Introduction to the RP Data-Rismark Daily Hedonic Home Value Index methodology:

The RP Data-Rismark Hedonic Home Value Index is calculated using a hedonic regression methodology that

addresses the issue of compositional bias associated with median price and other measures. In simple terms,

the index is calculated using recent sales data combined with information about the attributes of individual

properties such as the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, land area and geographical context of the dwelling.

By separating each property comprising the index into its various formational and locational attributes, differing

observed sales values for each property can be separated into those associated with varying attributes and

those resulting from changes in the underlying residential property market. Also, by understanding the value

associated with each attribute of a given property, this methodology can be used to estimate the value of

dwellings with known characteristics for which there is no recent sales price by observing the characteristics and

sales prices of other dwellings which have recently transacted. It then follows that changes in the market value of

the stock of residential property comprising an index can be accurately tracked through time. RP Data owns and

maintains Australia's largest property related database in Australia which includes transaction data for every

home sale within every state and territory. RP Data augments this data with recent sales advice from real estate

industry professionals, listings information and attributes data collected from a variety of sources. For detailed

methodological information please visit www.rpdata.com

www.rpdata.com/indices Media enquiries: RP Data: Mitch Koper – 0417 771 778

www.rpdata.com/indices

The indices in grey shading have been designed for trading environments in partnership with the Australian Securities Exchange (www.asx.com.au). Indices under blue shading (Hobart,

Darwin, Canberra, Brisbane and the 8 capital city aggregate) are calculated under the same methodology however are not currently planned to be part of the trading environment.

*The median price is the middle price of all settled sales over the three months to the end of the final month. Median prices are provided as an indicator of what price a typical home sold

for over the most recent quarter. The median price has no direct relationship with the RP Data-Rismark Hedonic Index value. The change in the Index value over time reflects the

underlying capital growth rates generated by residential property in the relevant region.

The RP Data-Rismark Hedonic Index growth rates are not ordinarily influenced by capital expenditure on homes, compositional changes in the types of properties being transacted, or

variations in the type and quality of new homes manufactured over time. The RP Data-Rismark ‘index values’ are not, therefore, the same as the ‘median price’ sold during a given period.

See the methodology below for further details.

Methodology: The RP Data-Rismark Hedonic Home Value Index is calculated using a hedonic regression methodology that addresses the issue of compositional bias associated with

median price and other measures. In simple terms, the index is calculated using recent sales data combined with information about the attributes of individual properties such as the

number of bedrooms and bathrooms, land area and geographical context of the dwelling. By separating each property comprising the index into its various formational and locational

attributes, differing observed sales values for each property can be separated into those associated with varying attributes and those resulting from changes in the underlying residential

property market. Also, by understanding the value associated with each attribute of a given property, this methodology can be used to estimate the value of dwellings with known

characteristics for which there is no recent sales price by observing the characteristics and sales prices of other dwellings which have recently transacted. It then follows that changes in

the market value of the stock of residential property comprising an index can be accurately tracked through time. RP Data owns and maintains Australia's largest property related database

in Australia which includes transaction data for every home sale within every state and territory. RP Data augments this data with recent sales advice from real estate industry

professionals, listings information and attribute data collected from a variety of sources. For detailed methodological information please visit www.rpdata.com

For more information on the RP Data-Rismark Indices, please go to http://www.rpdata.com

Media enquiries contact: Mitch Koper, National Media & Communications Manager 0417 771 778 or mitch.koper@rpdata.com

RP Data RP Data is the number one provider of property information, analytics and risk management services in Australia and New Zealand, 100 per cent owned by CoreLogic CLX– the world’s largest data and analytics provider. Through its expansive database, it attracts a strong and loyal customer base ranging from real estate agents, finance and banking organisations, government and consumers. RP Data combines public, contributory and propriety data to develop predictive decision-making analytics, coupled with its business services that bring insight and transparency to property markets. Backed by 30-years of history, RP Data is the holder of the country’s largest residential and commercial property database; this provides an excellent platform to electronically value very property in Australia on a weekly basis - on average 30 million valuations are generated each month. Recognised as a leader and an established player in the mortgage industry, RP Data continues to work with the Australian Finance and lending community to minimise risk and deliver value to consumers. Rismark International Rismark International ("Rismark") is a funds management and quantitative research business. It is dedicated to the development of intellectual property required to facilitate the creation of financial markets over the residential real estate asset class. Rismark also has a long history of advising Australian and overseas governments on the development of innovative economic policies as they relate to housing and financial markets. As a by-product of its quantitative research activities, Rismark has developed the technology and intellectual property underlying the market-leading RP Data-Rismark hedonic property price indices and related automated property valuation models (AVMs), amongst other things. For more information visit www.rismark.com.au.

Media enquiries: RP Data: Mitch Koper – 0417 771 778

Table 1: RP Data-Rismark Daily Home Value Index Results (Actual Results)

Capital Growth to 31 March 2013 Sydney Melbourne

Brisbane -

Gold Coast Adelaide Perth

Australia 5

Capitals

(ASX) Hobart Darwin Canberra Brisbane

Australia

8 Capitals

Table 1A: All Dwellings

Month 1.5% 0.8% 0.9% 0.0% 3.4% 1.3% 2.5% 2.4% 0.4% 1.0% 1.3%

Quarter 3.4% 2.5% 1.5% -0.5% 4.3% 2.7% 6.1% 2.4% 3.8% 1.9% 2.8%

Year-to-Date 3.4% 2.5% 1.5% -0.5% 4.3% 2.7% 6.1% 2.4% 3.8% 1.9% 2.8%

Year-on-Year 3.8% 0.3% 1.3% 0.3% 5.8% 2.4% -1.2% 7.3% 3.4% 1.4% 2.4%

Total Return Year-on-Year 8.5% 4.1% 6.3% 4.7% 10.6% 6.8% 4.1% 13.9% 8.4% 6.4% 6.9%

Median price* based on settled sales over quarter $550,500 $475,000 $410,000 $373,000 $479,000 $460,000 $332,500 $516,713 $505,000 $415,000 $465,000

Table 1B: Houses

Month 1.7% 0.9% 0.8% -0.1% 3.3% 1.4% 2.5% 3.1% 0.7% 1.0% 1.4%

Quarter 3.7% 2.5% 1.5% -0.8% 4.5% 2.7% 6.0% 4.5% 4.1% 1.9% 2.9%

Year-to-Date 3.7% 2.5% 1.5% -0.8% 4.5% 2.7% 6.0% 4.5% 4.1% 1.9% 2.9%

Year-on-Year 3.7% 0.6% 1.6% 0.3% 5.8% 2.4% -0.9% 7.8% 3.6% 1.6% 2.5%

Total Return Year-on-Year 8.3% 4.3% 6.5% 4.7% 10.7% 6.8% 4.4% 14.5% 8.6% 6.5% 6.9%

Median price* based on settled sales over quarter $620,000 $505,000 $447,000 $392,000 $492,000 $484,000 $360,000 $585,000 $535,000 $435,000 $485,000

Table 1C: Units

Month 0.5% 0.1% 1.1% 0.7% 5.3% 0.8% 1.9% -0.7% -2.5% 0.6% 0.7%

Quarter 2.4% 2.3% 1.6% 3.5% 1.7% 2.3% 6.7% -6.1% 0.9% 2.1% 2.3%

Year-to-Date 2.4% 2.3% 1.6% 3.5% 1.7% 2.3% 6.7% -6.1% 0.9% 2.1% 2.3%

Year-on-Year 4.1% -1.6% -1.0% 0.4% 4.9% 1.8% -3.7% 4.9% 0.9% -0.3% 2.0%

Total Return Year-on-Year 9.4% 2.8% 4.4% 5.2% 10.2% 6.9% 1.3% 11.4% 6.7% 5.4% 7.1%

Median price* based on settled sales over quarter $488,000 $421,750 $340,000 $312,500 $420,000 $415,000 $260,000 $400,000 $414,000 $360,000 $420,000

Table 1D: Rental Yield Results

Houses 4.2% 3.6% 4.7% 4.4% 4.4% 4.1% 5.2% 6.0% 4.5% 4.7% 4.1%

Units 5.0% 4.4% 5.4% 4.7% 5.0% 4.9% 5.0% 6.3% 5.6% 5.6% 4.9%