There was a reversal of trends between ASX shares vs. property last month, with bricks-and-mortar investments delivering a stronger performance than stocks.
But neither asset class finished the month in the green. In fact, the median national dwelling value fell for the first time in almost two years, according to CoreLogic data.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) started the month well, hitting a new all-time record high of 8,514.5 points on 3 December. But then it tumbled, losing 3.28% in value by the closing bell on 31 December.
Last month's weak performance followed a strong 3.38% gain in November for ASX 200 shares.
Meantime, the median national home value fell by 0.1% as buyer demand weakened amid higher supply.
CoreLogic said the first decline in 23 months marked the end of a surprisingly strong and resilient period of growth despite high interest rates, cost-of-living pressures, and reduced borrowing capacity.
Shares vs. property: What happened in the final month of 2024?
The mid-sized cities of Perth, Adelaide, and Brisbane continued their value ascension but at a slower pace.
Perth, Adelaide, and Brisbane recorded median home price gains of 0.7%, 0.6%, and 0.5%, respectively.
Home values fell by (0.6%) in Sydney, (0.7%) in Melbourne, and (0.5%) in both Hobart and Canberra.
Tim Lawless, CoreLogic's research director, said:
This result represents the housing market catching up with the reality of market dynamics.
Growth in housing values has been consistently weakening through the second half of the year, as affordability constraints weighed on buyer demand and advertised supply levels trended higher.
Let's review the numbers.
Shares vs. property: Here are the numbers for December
| Property market | Median house price | Price change last month | 12-month price change |
| Sydney | $1,470,625 | (0.7%) | 2.5% |
| Melbourne | $917,616 | (0.8%) | (2.9%) |
| Brisbane | $977,575 | 0.4% | 10.2% |
| Adelaide | $866,327 | 0.6% | 12.5% |
| Perth | $847,518 | 0.6% | 18.7% |
| Hobart | $693,924 | (0.4%) | (0.5%) |
| Darwin | $586,699 | 0.5% | 1.4% |
| Canberra | $965,910 | (0.6%) | 0.4% |
| Regional New South Wales | $775,378 | 0.0% | 3.2% |
| Regional Victoria | $600,504 | (0.3%) | (2.7%) |
| Regional Queensland | $705,366 | 0.5% | 10.8% |
| Regional South Australia | $463,754 | 1.3% | 12.6% |
| Regional Western Australia | $570,839 | 0.9% | 16% |
| Regional Tasmania | $545,090 | 0.5% | 3.4% |
| Regional Northern Territory | $421,601 | 1.5% | (2.5%) |
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 |
| De Grey Mining Limited (ASX: DEG) | 16.12% |
| Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) | 13.41% |
| Insignia Financial Ltd (ASX: IFL) | 13.06% |
| Auckland International Airport Limited (ASX: AIA) | 10.54% |
| Gold Road Resources Ltd (ASX: GOR) | 9.63% |
Why did the De Grey Mining share price go 16% higher?
Last month, the ASX 200's biggest gold miner, Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST), lobbed a $5 billion takeover offer at De Grey Mining, which it accepted.
The companies have entered into a binding scheme implementation deed. This will see Northern Star acquire 100% of De Grey Mining shares via a court-approved scheme of arrangement.
De Grey Mining shareholders will receive 0.119 new Northern Star shares for each De Grey share held.
As my colleague James reported, the deal implied an offer price of $2.08 per share for De Grey Mining, which was a 36.8% premium at the time.
News of the deal sent De Grey Mining shares skyrocketing 29.61% to a 17-year high of $1.99 on the day of the announcement. De Grey Mining shares finished the month at $1.77 per share.
