Sydney, Melbourne Home Prices Decline as Affordability Bites

Home values in Australia’s two largest cities, Sydney and Melbourne, declined in March as rising borrowing costs at already-elevated prices hurt affordability while growth momentum eased elsewhere.

Sydney fell 0.1% while Melbourne declined 0.2%, coinciding with falling auction clearance rates and a pick-up in advertised supply, property consultancy Cotality said in a report on Wednesday. Perth was the outperformer, clocking 2.5% growth while both Brisbane and Adelaide recorded rises of more than 1%, the report showed. That left the combined capitals index up 0.6%.