Australia's housing downturn deepens in August with prices falling

Australia's housing market downturn deepened in August, with national home prices falling for a fifth consecutive month as the slump spread from Sydney and Melbourne to nearly all capital cities and regional areas. The decline is being driven by a combination of high interest rates, federal government tax changes, and poor affordability, with major banks now warning that prices will continue to fall well into next year. Data released on August 31 by property analytics firm Cotality showed national dwelling values dropped 0.9 per cent in August, following a downwardly revised 1.2 per cent fall in July. This leaves national prices 3.6 per cent below their peak, though they remain 2.7 per cent higher than a year ago. Sydney and Melbourne again led the monthly declines, with falls of 1.4 per cent and 1.1 per cent respectively. The downturn has now spread, with Brisbane and Perth, which had previously shown strong gains, also recording falls of 1.0 per cent and 0.8 per cent. The Commonwealth Bank of Australia, the nation's largest home lender, has downgraded its forecasts, warning that property prices will continue to fall until well into 2027.