Sydney Home Prices Flatline While Rest of Australia Stays Strong

Sydney home prices, Australia’s bellwether property market, stagnated in February even as other major cities kept powering ahead, irrespective of the Reserve Bank’s interest-rate hike earlier in the month.

Both Sydney and Melbourne recorded flat results, while Perth, state capital of mining powerhouse Western Australia, surged 2.3% and the northeastern city of Brisbane advanced 1.6%, property consultancy Cotality said in its Home Value Index released Monday. Australia’s major cities rose by a combined 0.6%, easing from 0.7% posted in the first month of the year.