Australian house prices slip for fifth month as suburbs slump

Cotality's monthly Home Value Index reported a 0.9% drop in Australian house prices for August, marking the fifth consecutive month of declines and leaving the national median 3.6% beneath the record set in March. The downturn has deepened, with 93% of suburbs in the eight capital cities posting price falls, up from 45.8% in autumn. Sydney experienced the steepest slide at 1.4%, followed by Melbourne and Canberra at 1.1% and Brisbane at 1%, while Adelaide and Perth each slipped 0.8%.

Researchers attribute the widening weakness to a sharp dip in buyer demand, elevated advertised stock, and policy headwinds such as recent Reserve Bank rate hikes and changes to negative gearing and capital gains tax. Home-sale activity contracted sharply, with estimated volumes in Brisbane, Perth and Sydney down more than 20% from a year earlier, and Ray White noting open-home attendance fell from four visitors on average to about two. Economists caution that an accelerating unemployment rate could exacerbate the housing slowdown, especially given Australia's high household debt levels.