February’s rate cut led to a clear improvement in housing market conditions, but that positive influence now seems to be losing some of its potency. After a 0.4% rise in March, the pace of gains slipped a little, to 0.3% in April.

At the same time, household confidence dropped in April, with the “Liberation Day” tariff announcements and the federal election causing some uncertainty. We also had two consecutive long weekends through April, which saw many Australians on holiday.

This slowdown in conditions was evident in auction markets, where the clearance rate averaged 60% over the month. The flow of new listings added to the market was also low. Apart from the early COVID period of 2020, new listings through April were at their lowest level for this time of the year since 2019.

With further rate cuts expected as soon as May 20^th, and a level of certainty returning to the market following the federal election, we expect a further but modest growth in values through 2025.

The annual pace of growth provides a clearer view on how capital gain trends have evolved, with the 12 month change nationally slowing to 3.2% in April, the slowest annual rise since the 12 months ending August 2023.

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State-based housing updates:

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VIC

QLD

WA

SA

TAS

NT

ACT