In brief
New data released by Xinhua shows that Australia’s median house price fell 1.2% in October, a seventh month of decline, with a 6.7% drop from the March peak. The steepest fall in 40 years was seen in Brisbane, while rising interest rates and other headwinds drive the trend. Research director Tim Lawless attributes the drop to policy tightening, market confidence and cost‑of‑living pressures.
Australian house prices fell for the seventh consecutive month in October, Xinhua reported, with the national median dropping 1.2 percent from the previous month.
According to new data from property data firm Cotality, the median price has fallen 6.7 percent from its March peak, wiping about 63,400 Australian dollars off the median dwelling; the decline has accelerated to the fastest pace in 40 years.
The monthly fall was driven by a 1.4 percent drop in the median capital city house price, up from a 1.2 percent fall in September. Brisbane surpassed Sydney as the capital with the fastest rate of decline, recording a 2.0 percent drop in median house prices in October.
Tim Lawless, Cotality's research director, said the downturn was led by “an array of headwinds, including interest‑rate hikes, persistently low confidence, cost‑of‑living pressures and a move by the federal government to wind back tax concessions for property investors.”
"An array of headwinds, including interest‑rate hikes, persistently low confidence, cost‑of‑living pressures and a move by the federal government to wind back tax concessions for property investors," said Tim Lawless.
The Reserve Bank of Australia's Monetary Policy Board voted at the end of September to raise the cash rate target by 0.25 percentage points to a 15‑year high of 4.6 percent, and all four major banks predict a further rise to an 18‑year high of 4.85 percent. The board will meet again to consider the key interest rate over Monday and Tuesday.