In October, median Australian house prices fell 1.2%, the sixth straight month of decline, according to property data firm Cotality.
The 1.2% dip marked the fastest pace of downturn in forty years, wiping 63,400 Australian dollars off the median dwelling value from its March peak, where Cotality noted a 6.7% decline in house prices since that high.
On a monthly basis, the median capital city house price slipped 1.4%, a higher decrease than the 1.2% drop seen in September. Brisbane edged out Sydney as the city with the largest drop, reporting a 2.0% decline in median house prices in October.
Quarterly, median prices across all capital cities fell 4.5%. Tim Lawless, Cotality’s research director, said the pull‑back was driven by a mix of economic challenges, including higher interest rates, low consumer confidence, cost‑of‑living pressures and the federal government’s announcement to roll back tax concessions for property investors.
The Reserve Bank of Australia increased its cash rate target to a 15‑year high of 4.6% at its end‑of‑September meeting, and it will meet again on Monday and Tuesday to decide on a possible fifth increase to a 18‑year high of 4.85%.
