Average property values across Australia declined by 0.1% over the December 2024 period with 4 of the 8 capital cities recording a decline in value.

Melbourne had the highest decline of -0.7% followed by Sydney with -0.6% and Hobart & Canberra had declines of -0.5%. Capital cities that still recorded an increase in December were Perth with 0.7%, Adelaide with 0.6%, Brisbane with 0.5% & Darwin with 0.4%.

Tim Lawless, CoreLogic's research director, said he was not surprised by the latest data. "This result represents the housing market catching up with the reality of market dynamics".

Contributing factors to the decline include increased cost of living causing affordability constraints on buyers, reduced borrowing capacity from lenders and an increased supply of properties for sale.

Sally Tindall, Canstar’s Data Insights Director, said “This year has been one of the toughest 12 months financially for millions of households battling rising rents or super-sized mortgage repayments, on top of ever-growing grocery bills and other essential expenses”.

While the expectation is that 2025 will bring long awaited interest rate cuts, providing relief for many Australians, there is no way of knowing when these cuts will come or how much rates will decrease.

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