Australian home prices rise 0.5% in May
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The news: House prices in Australia saw a broad-based increase during May, rising 0.5% and pushing the national index 1.7% higher over the first five months of 2025.
The numbers: Data from Cotality, formerly CoreLogic, saw every capital city post a rise of at least 0.4% through the month. However, in annual terms the pace of gains in the national Home Value Index (HVI) slowed to 3.3%, the slowest 12-month change since the year ending August 2023.
Only Melbourne (-1.2%) and Canberra (-0.7%) have recorded an annual decline in dwelling values, suggesting market resilience through a period of relatively high interest rates and cost of living pressures.
Regional markets are trending positively, with each of the ‘rest of state’ markets recording a rise in values through the year-to-date. The strongest gains have been in Regional SA, where values are up 5.8% over the first five months of 2025. At the other end of the spectrum, regional Tasmanian values have held reasonably flat over the same period, up just 0.1%.
The context: Tim Lawless, Cotality’s research director, explained that the slower annual pace of growth reflects the easing in capital gains through the second half of last year, culminating in the modest fall in values over the three months to January 2025.
What they said: “The continued momentum we’re seeing across almost all markets is no doubt being fuelled by rate cuts – both those that have already happened, but also potential cuts in the coming months,” said Lawless, who also noted that auction clearance rates have picked up following the RBA’s May board meeting. “With interest rates falling again in May, we are likely to see a further positive influence flowing through to housing values in June and through the rest of the year.”
The source: Cotality media release
