Cotality’s national home value index increased by 0.3% in April, marking the slowest monthly rise since January 2025, immediately prior to last year’s rate‑cutting cycle. The national result was weighed down by Sydney and Melbourne, where values declined by 0.6% over the month. Sydney home values are now 1.0% below their November peak, while Melbourne values sit 1.9% under their November 2025 cyclical high and 2.3% below the March 2022 peak.
Every capital city recorded a slower rate of growth in April, although market conditions remain highly varied. Perth’s upswing is clearly losing momentum but remains robust, with values rising 2.1% over the month and adding more than $21,000 to the median dwelling value. Brisbane, Adelaide and Darwin also experienced a moderation in growth from elevated levels, yet values in each city still increased by more than 1% month on month. Cotality’s research director, Tim Lawless, noted that this easing in market conditions has been developing since late last year.
“The housing market was losing momentum from late last year as affordability and serviceability constraints weighed on demand Now we have the additional downside pressure of higher interest rates, sentiment has fallen off a cliff, and rising inflation is set to drive the cost of debt even higher," Lawless said.
Softer housing conditions have been accompanied by a cooling in buyer demand. Estimated capital city home sales over the past three months were 5.4% lower than a year ago and 7.4% below the previous five‑year average. Advertised stock levels have also increased in the weaker markets, sitting 9.4% above the five‑year average in Sydney and 2.2% above average in Melbourne. While inventory remains constrained across the mid-sized capitals, advertised listings are also trending higher in these cities—albeit from a low base and still well below typical levels for this time of year.
This shift in the demand–supply balance is also evident in auction clearance rates, which have remained below 55% since the final week of March.
Growth is increasingly concentrated in lower‑priced segments, a pattern that is becoming both clearer and more geographically widespread. All capital cities are now recording stronger gains in the lower quartile, as demand focuses where credit availability and first‑home buyer incentives exert the greatest influence.
“The largest difference between upper and lower quartile value growth is in Sydney, where lower-tier house values are up 2.9% year-to-date compared with a 3.3% fall across the most expensive quarter of the market,” Mr Lawless said.
Regional markets have been comparatively resilient through the broader slowdown, supported by lower dwelling values and above‑average internal migration. Over the first four months of the year, the combined regionals index rose 4.2%, compared with a 1.8% increase across the combined capitals. However, momentum is easing, with April’s 0.9% monthly rise the smallest gain in nine months.
Focusing on SA4 sub-markets over the first four months of the year, the strongest growth has been recorded in Bunbury in WA (+9.8%), Darling Downs–Maranoa in Queensland (+7.9%) and NSW’s Far West & Orana (+7.5%). Notably, no regional SA4 sub-market has recorded a fall in values over this period.