In the competition between ASX shares vs. property, shares were the clear outperformer in November.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) ripped 3.38% higher in November. This was the second-best monthly performance of the year (the benchmark rose 4.18% in July).
Also last month, the ASX 200 reached a new all-time high of 8,477.1 points on 28 November. This has been superseded today with the benchmark reaching an intraday high of 8,514.5 points, up 0.79%.
This strong market activity has prompted speculation that the traditional 'Santa Rally' may have begun early.
Meantime, the national home value rose for a 22nd consecutive month in November, according to CoreLogic data. However, it only rose by 0.1% as the market continued to cool.
This was the property market's weakest monthly performance of 2024.
We also saw a second consecutive monthly fall in Sydney's median home value last month.
The Sydney median dwelling value fell 0.2% in November, following a 0.1% decline in October.
The fall in October was the first time Sydney's median had dropped since January 2023.
Image source: Getty Images
Shares vs. property: What's dragging home values down?
The property market remains two-tiered, with the mid-sized capitals of Perth, Adelaide, and Brisbane continuing to rise but at a slower pace.
Perth, Adelaide, and Brisbane recorded median home price gains of 1.1%, 0.8%, and 0.6%, respectively.
Home values fell by 0.2% in Sydney, 0.4% in Melbourne, and 0.1% in Hobart.
Tim Lawless, CoreLogic's research director, said there was downward momentum in Melbourne and Sydney while the mid-sized capitals, which have dominated the growth cycle in 2024, are "losing steam."
Lawless said Perth, Adelaide, and Brisbane were still rising but also clearly cooling.
Perth's pace of capital gain continues to lead the nation, with values up 1.1% over the month and 3.0% higher over the rolling quarter, however this was the softest rise over a rolling three-month period since April 2023 and is less than half the rate of growth recorded through the June quarter (6.7%).
Similarly, Brisbane's quarterly rate of growth has eased back to 1.8%, the slowest pace of gains since March 2023, while Adelaide's 2.8% rise in values over the past three months was the smallest outcome since June 2023.
High interest rates and a better balance between supply and demand are contributing to the market cool-off.
A seasonal increase in listings during the busy Spring season has given buyers more choice. However, Lawless also commented that buyer demand was weaker with purchasing activity "winding down".
With more available supply and less purchasing activity, selling conditions have deteriorated through spring. The combined capitals auction clearance rate has held below the 60% mark since mid-October, and median selling times are trending higher for private treaty sales.
Let's take a look at the numbers.
Shares vs. property: Here are the numbers for November
| Property market | Median house price | Price growth last month | 12-month price growth |
| Sydney | $1,482,750 | (0.4%) | 3.5% |
| Melbourne | $923,422 | (0.5%) | (2.3%) |
| Brisbane | $974,396 | 0.6% | 11% |
| Adelaide | $865,563 | 0.7% | 13.4% |
| Perth | $842,227 | 1% | 20.7% |
| Hobart | $694,388 | (0.1%) | (1.2%) |
| Darwin | $580,091 | 0.3% | 1% |
| Canberra | $972,753 | 0.2% | 0.7% |
| Regional New South Wales | $771,931 | 0.1% | 3.1% |
| Regional Victoria | $597,303 | (0.1%) | (2.9%) |
| Regional Queensland | $690,753 | 0.5% | 10.7% |
| Regional South Australia | $459,014 | 0.8% | 11.8% |
| Regional Western Australia | $557,886 | 1.1% | 17.1% |
| Regional Tasmania | $537,607 | 0.4% | 2.3% |
| Regional Northern Territory | $421,305 | (2.1%) | (2.9%) |
Top 5 risers of the ASX 200 last month
Here are the five best-performing ASX 200 shares of the month based on share price growth.
| ASX 200 share | Share price growth |
| Sigma Healthcare Ltd (ASX: SIG) | 47.4% |
| Pro Medicus Limited (ASX: PME) | 29.3% |
| Web Travel Group Ltd (ASX: WEB) | 27.8% |
| TechnologyOne Ltd (ASX: TNE) | 23.7% |
| Block Inc CDI (ASX: SQ2) | 22.4% |
Why did the Sigma Healthcare share price soar 47%?
ASX healthcare share Sigma Healthcare received a massive boost last month when the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) gave the thumbs up on its proposed merger with Chemist Warehouse.
Sigma Healthcare owns a network of pharmacies, including Amcal, Discount Drug Stores, and Guardian Pharmacy. Chemist Warehouse is a privately owned national discount chemist chain.
The proposed merger has resulted in a complete re-rating of the value of Sigma Healthcare shares.
In fact, with a 12-month gain of 309%, Sigma shares have been a better investment than global favourite Nvidia Corp (NASDAQ: NVDA) over the past year.
Sigma is one of 11 ASX shares rising faster than Nvidia over the past 12 months.
