Home prices across Australia's major cities eased for an eighth straight month in May as tighter lending standards at banks cooled demand in Sydney and Melbourne, although regional markets continued to tick higher. Property consultant CoreLogic said on Friday its index of home prices for the combined capital cities slipped 0.1 percent in May, after a 0.4 percent dip in April.
That left nationwide prices down 0.4 percent for the year, the first annual decline since 2012. Along with tougher rules from regulators, lenders have also been raising borrowing standards amid revelations of widespread malpractices on loans and financial advice among several major institutions.
The result has been a marked pullback in demand in the once red-hot markets of Sydney and Melbourne, ending a boom in prices that ran for five years.
"The negative headline growth rate is a symptom of weakening housing conditions across the capital cities, led by Melbourne and Sydney, where previously capital gains were nation-leading," noted CoreLogic Head of Research Tim Lawless. Sydney and Melbourne comprise about 60 percent of Australia's housing market by value and 40 percent by number.
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