The last quarter of 2017 saw home and other dwelling prices swell amongst capital cities save Canberra, the latest Real Estate Institute of Australia (REIA) report revealed.

According to REIA Real Estate Market Facts, the year ended with the weighted average median price of the eight capital cities rising 1% to $769,501 –Canberra bucked the trend with a 2.7% decline in prices.

There was also an increase in the weighted average median price of the capital cities at 0.6%, with only Sydney and Darwin reporting declines of 0.4% and 7.4%, respectively.

REIA president Malcolm Gunning said Hobart had the highest increase in the median price of houses at 5.2% and for other dwellings at 4.8%. The city also had the largest growth in median rent for three-bedroom houses at 2.7%.

Overall median rent increased in Hobart by 3.2% while it remained steady in Melbourne and Brisbane. In Sydney, Adelaide, Perth, Darwin and Canberra, median rents slumped, with Perth recording the biggest decline at 4.7%.

With regards to vacancy rates, the weighted average for the eight capital cities remained steady at 2.8%.

"Vacancy rates decreased in most capital cities including Melbourne, Perth, Canberra, Hobart and Darwin, with the largest decreases of 0.6 percentage points in Canberra and Darwin," Gunning said.

"Vacancy rates increased in Sydney and Brisbane, while only Perth and Darwin had vacancy rates above the industry benchmark of 3.0%."

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