Home price falls came to a crashing halt last week, suggesting housing market conditions may be starting to stabilise, according to data from CoreLogic.
Median house prices across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth remained unchanged last week.
Over the past month, house prices across these capital cities fell 0.4% – much slower than the regular 1% monthly declines seen in the last few months.
Sydney and Melbourne’s house price stabilisation is particularly noteworthy as it follows an improvement in housing finance, sentiment towards buying, auction clearance rates, and the overall outlook for prices.
Capital city home value changes
| Capital city | Weekly change | Monthly change | Year to date change | 12 month change |
| Sydney | 0.0% | -0.5% | -3.5% | -10.9% |
| Melbourne | 0.0% | -0.5% | -3.7% | -9.8% |
| Brisbane | 0.0% | -0.3% | -1.4% | -1.7% |
| Adelaide | -0.2% | -0.3% | -0.8% | 0.3% |
| Perth | -0.1% | -0.3% | -3.2% | -8.2% |
| Combined 5 capitals | 0.0% | -0.4% | -3.1% | -8.7% |
It comes after the Westpac-MI Consumer Sentiment Index for April showed that sentiment towards prices and purchasing rose strongly, indicating Australians have become more confident about where the housing market is heading.
“Sentiment around housing improved in April,” said Bill Evans, Chief Economist at Westpac Bank.
“The ‘time to buy a dwelling’ index rose a further 2.4% to 119.4 in April, a four-year high. The index has now risen 33% from its mid-2017 low and is back around its long run average of 120.”
A reading of over 100 indicates most Australians believe now is a good time to buy a home.
The slowdown in the pace of falling house prices coincides with a sharp drop in the number of property listings on the market.
Capital city properties listed for sale
| Capital city | No of new listings | 12 month change (%) | No of total listings | 12 month change (%) |
| Sydney | 4,689 | -28.7% | 27,459 | 4.5% |
| Melbourne | 5,438 | -32.6% | 35,169 | 17.8% |
| Brisbane | 3,408 | -10.0% | 20,875 | 7.2% |
| Adelaide | 1,879 | -6.8% | 8,555 | 4.8% |
| Perth | 3,108 | -11.8% | 21,046 | -0.6% |
| Hobart | 395 | 14.8% | 1,313 | 24.2% |
| Darwin | 140 | -14.1% | 1,400 | -1.8% |
| Canberra | 523 | -13.3% | 2,401 | 24.4% |
| Combined capitals | 19,580 | -21.9% | 118,218 | 8.1% |
With the exception of Hobart, property listings fell in all other capital cities across Australia.
The number of new property listings is down 21.9% nationally from the level seen at the same time last year.
For sellers, fewer listings on the market could limit any further house price falls, as buyers compete for the limited amount of properties available.
Ready, Set, Buy!
Learn everything you need to know about buying property – from choosing the right property and home loan, to the purchasing process, tips to save money and more!
With bonus Q&A sheet and Crossword!
Harry O'Sullivan
Emma Duffy
