Residential property values in Australian capital cities increased by 0.9% in December to take the annual increase to 7.9%, the latest index data shows.

Values rose in all cities except for Darwin where they fell by 0.6% and Canberra where they were also down by 0.6% while values were unchanged in Sydney, according to the CoreLogic RP Data Home Value Index.

Over the final quarter of 2014, capital city home values increased by 1.6% with Perth, Sydney and Brisbane recording the greatest quarterly gains at 2.8%, 2.3% and 1.8% respectively, while values fell in Darwin by 1.7% and in Canberra by 3.4%.

However, despite the positive result across most cities, the annual rate of capital gain across Australia’s capital city housing market has continued to slow. The capital gain on houses was higher, with house values gaining 8.4% over the calendar year compared with a 5.1% increase in apartment values.

According to RP Data senior research analyst Cameron Kusher, detached housing remains in high demand despite the higher price point. ‘Based on the median price across the combined capital cities, houses are attracting a $100,000 premium over apartments,’ he said.