Australian residential property prices eased in June, slipping 0.4% from May in the most pronounced monthly decline recorded since December 2022, Cotality reported. The consultancy attributed the move to softer buyer activity as higher borrowing costs and changes to property taxation weighed on the market.
Despite the June dip, national values remain 7.3% higher compared with the same time a year earlier. Cotality's revisions to earlier months show prices peaked in March and then fell by 0.7% across the second quarter.
Movements varied across major cities. Sydney led the monthly falls with a 1.2% decline, while Melbourne recorded a 1.0% drop. Among the medium-sized capitals, Adelaide's prices were unchanged in June, Brisbane rose 0.3%, and Perth increased by 0.7%.
Over a longer horizon, national dwelling values have increased by more than 30% across the last five years.
"Even before interest rates rose by seventy-five basis points, we were seeing affordability hurdles weighing on buyer demand," said Tim Lawless, research director at Cotality.
Lawless pointed to several factors behind the weaker housing conditions, including rising cost-of-living pressures, negative consumer sentiment, and the property taxation changes introduced in the federal budget.
The Reserve Bank of Australia noted on Tuesday that the housing market had eased and that housing credit growth appeared set to slow after three rate increases implemented from February. The central bank warned of risks around a potential material weakening in the housing market, a development that could in turn affect household consumption.
The June result marks a clear shift from the double-digit gains seen in some periods of the past five years, and it highlights the sensitivity of housing demand to both funding costs and fiscal policy adjustments.