MEDIA RELEASE 11 December 2018 Embargo: 11.30 am (Canberra time)



Melbourne and Sydney drive property price fall



Residential property prices fell 1.5 per cent in the September quarter 2018, according to figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).



Melbourne property prices recorded the third consecutive quarter of falls (-2.6 per cent) and the first annual price fall (-1.5 per cent) since the September quarter 2012, while Sydney property prices continued to fall (-1.9 per cent) in the September quarter 2018.



Chief Economist for the ABS, Bruce Hockman said: "Falls in Sydney and Melbourne are no longer confined to the more expensive properties, with declines now being observed in the middle and lower segments of the market.



"Factors including tightening credit availability and falling property prices are weighing on activity from both investors and owner occupiers".



Through the year growth in residential property prices continued to moderate (-1.9 per cent) in the September quarter 2018, with falls recorded in Sydney (-4.4 per cent), Darwin (-4.4 per cent), Melbourne (-1.5 per cent) and Perth (-0.5 per cent).



"Results are in line with market indicators, with auction clearance rates and sales volumes falling and days on market trending higher," said Mr Hockman.



The total value of Australia's 10.1 million residential dwellings fell by $70.1 billion to $6.8 trillion. The mean price of dwellings in Australia is now $675,000.



Further details can be found in





Media notes: Established houses are detached residential dwellings on their own block of land, regardless of age.

The term 'attached dwellings' includes flats, units and apartments plus semi-detached, row and terrace houses.

The value and mean price of residential dwellings includes any land.

When reporting ABS data, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (or ABS) must be attributed as the source.

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Residential property prices fell 1.5 per cent in the September quarter 2018, according to figures released today by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).Melbourne property pricesrecorded the third consecutive quarter of falls (-2.6 per cent) and the first annual price fall (-1.5 per cent) since the September quarter 2012, while Sydney property prices continued to fall (-1.9 per cent) in the September quarter 2018.Chief Economist for the ABS, Bruce Hockman said: "Falls in Sydney and Melbourne are no longer confined to the more expensive properties, with declines now being observed in the middle and lower segments of the market."Factors including tightening credit availability and falling property prices are weighing on activity from both investors and owner occupiers".Through the year growth in residential property prices continued to moderate (-1.9 per cent) in the September quarter 2018, with falls recorded in Sydney (-4.4 per cent), Darwin (-4.4 per cent), Melbourne (-1.5 per cent) and Perth (-0.5 per cent)."Results are in line with market indicators, with auction clearance rates and sales volumes falling and days on market trending higher," said Mr Hockman.The total value of Australia's 10.1 million residential dwellings fell by $70.1 billion to $6.8 trillion. The mean price of dwellings in Australia is now $675,000.Further details can be found in Residential Property Price Indexes: Eight Capital Cities (cat. no. 6416.0), available for free download from the ABS website: https://www.abs.gov.au