Newcastle property prices have crashed through the $600,000 barrier for the first time after another surge in November.
The median price of all houses and apartments sold last month in Newcastle and Lake Macquarie jumped 2 per cent, from $585,341 in October to $602,510 in November.
The figures from property analysts CoreLogic show prices are up 3.9 per cent in the past three months and 8.4 per cent in the past year. The median value was $555,000 a year ago.
The Newcastle Herald reported last month that the city's house prices had surpassed $600,000 for the first time in October. Now the combined value of units and houses has hit record levels.
The median value of houses in Newcastle last month was a record $618,655. The median apartment price was $517,493, still 4.8 per cent down on the 2018 peak.
Newcastle median prices are higher than in Brisbane ($515,000), Perth ($464,000), Adelaide ($460,000) and Hobart ($506,000).
Property agent Steph Jordan said Newcastle realtors were struggling to maintain listing levels because houses were "selling so quickly".
"Stock is selling in the first week," she said. "I only have two live at the moment, and in the past I've had up to 14. People are also waiting until the new year to try to sell."
Property prices in the rest of the Hunter rose 1.3 per cent in November to a median of $452,074, also a new record.
Median prices rose only 0.2 per cent across all of Australia's capital cities in November.
Sydney prices fell 0.1 per cent and are down 0.6 per cent in the past quarter.
The Hunter's buoyant property market is reflected in rental prices, which have jumped 3.7 per cent in Newcastle and 5 per cent in Port Stephens and Lake Macquarie in the past year.
The NSW government's Rent and Sales Report September 2020 shows Cessnock's median rents are up 7.3 per cent in a year.
"This is obviously good news for landlords, but bad news for renters, particularly those on lower incomes, who may have lost their jobs due to COVID-19," Compass Housing economist Martin Kennedy said in a media statement.
About 16,000 more people are out of work in the Hunter compared with at the start of the year.
"We know JobKeeper and the coronavirus supplement were the only things keeping a lot of people's heads above water," Mr Kennedy said.
"With those payments being phased out, and rents still rising, there is a strong chance we could see an increase in housing stress.
"That's not just bad for the individuals and their families, it's bad for the wider economy as well because people struggling to keep the roof over their head have less to spend on other things."
He said the resilience of local rents highlighted the need for greater state and federal investment in social and affordable housing.
"Even before the pandemic, approximately 40 per cent of renters in our region were in housing stress and around 2000 households were on the waiting list for social housing."
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