More Perth property pain as house prices take another hit in CoreLogic’s latest report

The national property market has slumped to its weakest point since the depths of the global financial crisis with values falling in the run-up to Christmas.

CoreLogic’s closely watched property value report today showed values across Perth fell by 0.7 per cent in November to be down 2.1 per cent over the past three months.

House values tumbled by 0.8 per cent to be down 3.4 per cent through the year so far.

Unit values tripped by 0.6 per cent and are now down by 5.5 per cent since the start of 2018.

But the situation is deteriorating even more quickly in the key Sydney and Melbourne markets.

House values in Sydney fell by 0.7 per cent and are now down by 8.3 per cent so far this year. In Melbourne, house values fell by 1.2 per cent last month to be 7.3 per cent off since January.

The two cities account for 55 per cent of the national market.

There were some positive signs with values up in Canberra and Darwin by 0.8 per cent while they also lifted in Hobart (0.5 per cent) and Brisbane (0.1 per cent).

However, unit values are now falling across more centres.

CoreLogic’s Tim Lawless said the Sydney market had now fallen by 9.6 per cent since its peak and is on track to fall further than its previous record set during the 1990-91 recession.

He said tighter credit regulations plus a lift in some interest rates for owner-occupiers was contributing to a squeeze on the market.

“Typically, the catalyst for a turn in the housing market is a result in changes in interest rates or economic conditions,” he said.

“This time around however, the market has been most affected by credit policies and availability of finance, despite very low mortgage rates and relatively strong economic conditions.”