In brief
For October, Australian home values slipped 1.2% nationwide, the seventh straight month of decline, and down 6.7% from the March peak. The steepest falls were seen in Brisbane, where median prices dropped 2.0%. Rising interest rates and reduced confidence are cited as key pressure points behind the trend.
SYDNEY, Nov. 2 – Australian house prices fell for a seventh consecutive month in October, the longest decline streak in 40 years, according to property data firm Cotality.
The national median house price slipped 1.2 percent in October, falling 63,400 Australian dollars, or about $44,565 US, from the March high.
Over the entire year, the median price is down 6.7 percent from its peak in March, wiping out more than $60,000 in value for an average dwelling.
The pace of decline is now the fastest in four decades, a trend that has seen monthly drops accelerate in recent months.
In December, Cotality reported a 1.4 percent drop in capital‑city median prices, up from 1.2 percent in September. For the first time since the data began, Brisbane eclipsed Sydney as the city with the fastest fall, recording a 2.0 percent drop in median house prices.
Across all capital cities, median prices fell 4.5 percent on a quarterly basis, reflecting a broader shift from the February‑June steep rise in July.
According to Cotality’s research director Tim Lawless, a range of headwinds are contributing to the downturn, including repeated interest‑rate hikes, persistently low consumer confidence, rising living costs, and a federal move to reduce tax concessions for property investors.
The Reserve Bank of Australia’s Monetary Policy Board ended September with a 0.25‑percentage‑point increase in the cash‑rate target, bringing it to a 15‑year high of 4.6 percent. The board will meet again Monday and Tuesday to decide the key interest rate, while all four major banks predict a fifth raise to 4.85 percent, the highest in 18 years.
With the momentum of falling prices and tightening money conditions, housing affordability is a growing concern for Australian families, particularly first‑time buyers who have been priced out of the market in recent years.
The combination of slowing price growth, higher borrowing costs, and reduced investor incentives suggests a continued cooling in the residential market, a trend that local authorities and banks will monitor closely in the coming months.