Dodgy Property Data

by Terry Ryder
Real Estate Journalist
Consumer Advocate

Confusion reigns as industry rains dodgy data.

It's not a new problem but it seems to be getting worse. The muddle of conflicting statistics constantly churned out by the property industry is making it almost impossible for anyone to pinpoint which markets are doing well and which are not.

Here's an example. What is the median house price is Perth at the moment and where does it sit in relation to Melbourne's and Sydney's?

According to the RP Data-Rismark Hedonic Index, it's $505,000, the highest in the nation outside of Sydney and $100,000 higher than Melbourne's. The Real Estate Institute of Australia says it's $446,000 – just $26,000 higher than Melbourne's.

If you believe RP Data, Perth had a higher median price than Sydney until recently. But now it's $55,000 lower. The REIA says Perth's median house price is $80,000 less than Sydney's while Australian Property Monitors records a value gap of just $25,000.

Melbourne's median house price is $403,000 or $$420,000 or $395,000, depending on whose figures you choose to believe.

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