What Happened to the Property Market this March?

The housing market trends through to the end of March showed a moderate in the rate of value decline, but a broadening in the geographic scope of weaker conditions.

Although the CoreLogic national hedonic index series trended lower in March, the actual rate of decline has been easing over the past three months. National dwelling values were down 0.6% in March - the smallest of the MoM declines since values fell by 0.5% in October of 2018.

While the pace of falls has slowed in March, the scope of the downturn has become more geographically widespread. Dwelling values were down across six of the eight capital cities over the month – with Canberra values holding firm while Hobart values were 0.6% higher. During March, Brisbane saw a 0.6% fall while Melbourne and Sydney saw decreases of 0.8% and 0.9%.

The quarterly trend in dwelling values recorded a similar trend in pattern with six of the eight capital cities recording a fall in values over the March quarter – led by Darwin (down 3.9%), followed by Melbourne (down 3.4%) and Sydney (down 3.2%).