Amid headlines boasting the supposed recovery of the housing market, the decline in property prices continued during the June quarter, figures from Real Estate Institute of Australia show.
The average median price for houses decreased by 1%, while the average median value of units declined by 0.6%. The weighted average median price for houses for the eight capital cities decreased to $720,041 over the quarter while that of other dwellings decreased to $565,753.
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While the erosion in dwelling values has been persistent since June 2018, REIA president Adrian Kelly said the rate of decline appears to be already slowing.
"With the post-election boost in confidence in the real estate market as evidenced by higher levels of enquiry, two cuts in interest rates and changes in APRA'ss requirements, the June quarter will most likely mark the bottom of the cycle," Kelly said.
Finance commitments shrink
Along with the decline in prices is the continued slump in finance commitments. Over the quarter, finance commitments were down by 15.1% from last year. Loans issued to first-home buyers also recorded a decline of 7.6%.
However, Kelly said the positive influence of the results of the federal election, the back-to-back rate cuts, and the changes to income tax would only manifest over the coming months.
"There was considerable uncertainty regarding the outcome and concern about changes to property taxation and its impact should there be a change in government," he said.
On a quarterly basis, lending commitments increased slightly — owner-occupied financing went up by 0.4% while the value of investment housing commitments recorded a 0.5% improvement.
