Australia’s home prices in October were up 6.6% year-on-year, pushing up the national median value to A$543,251 (US$417,472), according to a CoreLogic report released Wednesday.
Prices rose 7% in capital cities and 4.9% in regional areas.
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The index from the Australian market information provider tracks the home prices in eight capital cities: Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, Hobart, Darwin and Canberra.
The short-term market, though, does not share the same optimistic numbers. Since moving through a peak rate of growth in November 2016, capital gains across Australia’s housing market have been losing momentum, the report said, resulting in zero growth in October compared to September.
CoreLogic head of research Tim Lawless attributed the slowdown in capital gains to tighter credit policies which have "fundamentally changed the landscape for borrowers," he said in the report, including premiums on mortgage rates, which are a likely disincentive.
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While prices in the regions are broadly at a standstill or slow moving, only three capital cities recorded a downturn over the three months ending in October: Sydney (-0.6%), Perth (-0.7%) and Darwin (-4.4%).
While values in Perth and Darwin have been falling since 2014, this is the first rolling quarterly drop recorded in Sydney home values since May 2016, according to the report. A significant turn of events, Mr. Lawless wrote.
The biggest increase in home prices was seen in Hobart, the capital of Australia's island state of Tasmania. Prices increased 12.7% year-on-year, 3.3% over the last three months and 0.9% compared to September, making for a median value of A$396,393 (US$304,616).