House price growth slows as buyers stick to cheaper homes
Luca Ittimani
Australia’s housing market is at its slowest for almost 18 months as buyers stick to cheaper properties and abandon interest in the top end of the market.
Figures today from the data firm Cotality show Melbourne and Sydney house prices fell 0.6% in April. Melbourne’s home values have now fallen 1.9% since November, with Sydney’s down 1%.
Prices are still rising at the cheaper end of the market but at a slower pace in both cities. The lower quarter of the market is up 0.1% but outweighed by the top-priced quarter falling 1.2% in April.
Canberra prices stayed flat over the month and Hobart’s rose just 0.2%, with the top quarters of both seeing prices fall.
Perth, Brisbane, Adelaide and Darwin are still steadily rising but the two-speed market is clear: every capital city is seeing prices rise faster in the bottom quarter of homes than the top quarter.
Key events
Rent hikes speed up, adding to RBA inflation worries
Luca Ittimani
House prices may be slowing but rents are rising at their fastest since October 2024, adding to inflation pressure ahead of the Reserve Bank’s next interest rate decision on Tuesday.
Advertised prices for new rental listings are rising at their fastest pace since October 2024, with Cotality data showing they picked up 5.7% over the year, including a rise of 0.6% (or about $38) in April alone.
The pace of rent increases for houses had been picking up in every major city except Adelaide until recently. Now even Adelaide is rising, with advertised house rents up 4.2% in the year to April. Perth and Hobart are up 7% and Darwin house rents have risen 8.8%
The tight rental market didn’t help, with vacancy rates below 1.8% in every capital city, well below the 2010s average of 3.3% of rental stock left vacant.
Rents were one of the biggest non-fuel contributors to inflation hitting 4.6% in the year to March, after rising 3.7% across existing and new tenancies. The Reserve Bank will be weighing up whether inflation is too fast as it considers another interest rate hike next week.
House price growth slows as buyers stick to cheaper homes
Luca Ittimani
Australia’s housing market is at its slowest for almost 18 months as buyers stick to cheaper properties and abandon interest in the top end of the market.
Figures today from the data firm Cotality show Melbourne and Sydney house prices fell 0.6% in April. Melbourne’s home values have now fallen 1.9% since November, with Sydney’s down 1%.
Prices are still rising at the cheaper end of the market but at a slower pace in both cities. The lower quarter of the market is up 0.1% but outweighed by the top-priced quarter falling 1.2% in April.
Canberra prices stayed flat over the month and Hobart’s rose just 0.2%, with the top quarters of both seeing prices fall.
Perth, Brisbane, Adelaide and Darwin are still steadily rising but the two-speed market is clear: every capital city is seeing prices rise faster in the bottom quarter of homes than the top quarter.
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then it will be Stephanie Convery with the main action.
Australia’s housing market is at its slowest for almost 18 months as buyers stick to cheaper properties but rents are rising at their fastest rate since October 2024.
Australia has agreed to work with South Korea to strengthen energy supply chain resilience and to maintain secure supply of energy resources, the foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, has said after talks in Seoul last night.
More coming up.
