The latest CoreLogic Housing Chart Pack for April 2025 shows Australia’s property market has rebounded slightly after three consecutive months of decline, with dwelling values up 0.7% for the quarter.
Despite this uptick, the annual growth rate continues to slow, with values rising just 3.4% over the year to March – a significant cooling from previous years’ double-digit gains.
Sydney’s struggling market sits 1.4% below its September 2024 peak, while Melbourne values have fallen 5.6% from their March 2022 high. Meanwhile, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth continue to outperform, with Brisbane and Adelaide reaching record highs and Perth sitting just below its peak.
The quarterly growth figures show Sydney up 0.4%, Melbourne 0.3%, Brisbane 0.9%, Adelaide 1.0%, and Perth 0.2%. Hobart (0.2%) and Darwin (2.8%) also posted gains, while Canberra declined slightly (-0.1%).
CoreLogic data reveals properties are taking longer to sell, with the national median time on market increasing from 30 days a year ago to 40 days in Q1 2025. Regional areas are particularly affected, with listings taking a median of 50 days to sell – the highest since Q3 2020.
The report highlights a potential shift in market sentiment following February’s interest rate cut, with some cities showing brief enthusiasm before momentum slowed again. Sydney’s rolling 28-day growth rate has dropped from 0.7% in mid-March to just 0.1% by early April.
Auction clearance rates have dipped below 60%, coming in at 59.4% for the week ending March 30. Adelaide leads with the highest success rate at 64.5%, followed by Sydney (62.9%) and Melbourne (62.3%).
The rental market continues to cool, with annual growth slowing to 3.8% – the lowest in four years and approaching the pre-COVID decade average of 2.0%. This has helped gross rental yields rise slightly across the combined capitals over the past six months, from 3.4% to 3.5%.
On the financing front, the value of new home loan commitments rose 1.4% in Q4 2024 to $87.2 billion, driven by owner-occupiers. First home buyer lending increased by 1.5%, representing 29.2% of new owner-occupier lending – above the historic decade average of 26.8%.
Looking ahead, all eyes are on the Reserve Bank’s May meeting, with the major banks now forecasting at least a 25 basis point cut. Financial markets are pricing in a 96% chance of a 50 basis point reduction following inflation easing into the target range for three consecutive months.
The report noted that if the core quarterly CPI measure for March comes in under 3%, “it looks increasingly likely the next rate cut will be around the corner,” potentially breathing new life into Australia’s cooling property market.
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