House prices slip further

Perth’s median house price has slipped to $490,000 as the Western Australian capital continues to suffer from low demand.

House prices in Perth fell 0.9 per cent last month, rounding out a 4.3 per cent fall in the three months to July, while the combined value of capital city dwellings in Australia reached a new high, CoreLogic RP Data’s July 2016 Home Value Index shows.

Perth and Darwin remain the only two capital cities to record a negative movement in dwelling values over the past 12 months, with Perth values falling by 5.6 per cent year on year.

“As homes take longer to sell, vendors are starting to apply larger discounts to their asking prices,” CoreLogic head of research Tim Lawless said.

“With the Reserve Bank meeting tomorrow, the milder housing market numbers may add some weight to the argument for lower interest rates.

“If the cash rate does move lower tomorrow and the cuts are passed on to mortgage rates, the housing market and lending standards are likely to be under even closer scrutiny as policy makers watch for signs of value growth reigniting.”