Australian property values have declined for the seventh straight month, with Adelaide hit the hardest. Realestate.com.au’s November Home Price Index shows the national median home value dropped 0.3% for the month and 1.9% for the year, now sitting at $871,000. Senior economist Eleanor Creagh warns another interest rate hike by the Reserve Bank of Australia, expected this week, could worsen the downturn.
Adelaide saw the steepest decline, with home values falling 0.6% to $907,000, marking the second consecutive month as the worst-performing city. Brisbane followed closely with a 0.4% drop to $1.014 million. Hobart was the only capital to hold steady, with values unchanged at $734,000 for houses and $788,000 for units.
Creagh noted that the downturn, initially concentrated in Sydney and Melbourne, has spread to Brisbane, Adelaide, and Perth, previously strong markets. She attributed this shift to higher borrowing costs and reduced buyer capacity. Units generally fared better than houses, with Brisbane units dropping 0.3% to $810,000, while Canberra units saw a 0.3% increase to $590,000.
Regionally, home values dropped 0.2% in NSW, Queensland, and Tasmania, but held firm in Victoria, South Australia, and Western Australia. Ray White Group chief economist Nerida Conisbee cautioned that falling prices could exacerbate the housing shortage, as fewer new developments may proceed due to lower established prices.