Australia news live: housing market slows but rents surge; Penny Wong hails South Korea energy pact

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Australia’s housing market is at its slowest for almost 18 months as buyers stick to cheaper properties and abandon interest in the top end of the market.

Figures today from the data firm Cotality show Melbourne and Sydney house prices fell 0.6% in April. Melbourne’s home values have now fallen 1.9% since November, with Sydney’s down 1%.

Prices are still rising at the cheaper end of the market but at a slower pace in both cities. The lower quarter of the market is up 0.1% but outweighed by the top-priced quarter falling 1.2% in April.

Canberra prices stayed flat over the month and Hobart’s rose just 0.2%, with the top quarters of both seeing prices fall.

Perth, Brisbane, Adelaide and Darwin are still steadily rising but the two-speed market is clear: every capital city is seeing prices rise faster in the bottom quarter of homes than the top quarter.

House prices may be slowing but rents are rising at their fastest since October 2024, adding to inflation pressure ahead of the Reserve Bank’s next interest rate decision on Tuesday.

Advertised prices for new rental listings are rising at their fastest pace since October 2024, with Cotality data showing they picked up 5.7% over the year, including a rise of 0.6% (or about $38) in April alone.

The pace of rent increases for houses had been picking up in every major city except Adelaide until recently. Now even Adelaide is rising, with advertised house rents up 4.2% in the year to April. Perth and Hobart are up 7% and Darwin house rents have risen 8.8%

The tight rental market didn’t help, with vacancy rates below 1.8% in every capital city, well below the 2010s average of 3.3% of rental stock left vacant.

Rents were one of the biggest non-fuel contributors to inflation hitting 4.6% in the year to March, after rising 3.7% across existing and new tenancies. The Reserve Bank will be weighing up whether inflation is too fast as it considers another interest rate hike next week.

Australia’s housing market is at its slowest for almost 18 months as buyers stick to cheaper properties and abandon interest in the top end of the market.

Figures today from the data firm Cotality show Melbourne and Sydney house prices fell 0.6% in April. Melbourne’s home values have now fallen 1.9% since November, with Sydney’s down 1%.

Prices are still rising at the cheaper end of the market but at a slower pace in both cities. The lower quarter of the market is up 0.1% but outweighed by the top-priced quarter falling 1.2% in April.

Canberra prices stayed flat over the month and Hobart’s rose just 0.2%, with the top quarters of both seeing prices fall.

Perth, Brisbane, Adelaide and Darwin are still steadily rising but the two-speed market is clear: every capital city is seeing prices rise faster in the bottom quarter of homes than the top quarter.