Australian home prices fell 1.2% in October; three-month sales estimates down 23% year-on-year

Australian national home prices fell 1.2% in October, extending the decline to a seventh consecutive month, according to Cotality data released November 2, with the national index now 6.7% below its March peak and the combined major-cities index down 8.1%. Cotality noted the pace of declines in major cities over the past seven months has been the fastest of any downturn in the past 40 years. Brisbane led the October drops with a 2.0% decline, followed by Perth at 1.7% and Sydney at 1.6%, with all major cities posting losses. Estimated home sales over the past three months are running 23% below the same period last year, signaling a sharp slowdown in transaction activity. The broad-based, historically rapid correction matters for Australia's housing-linked lenders, builders and consumer sectors, and markets will watch whether sales volumes stabilize and whether the Reserve Bank of Australia's rate path shifts in response to the deepening downturn.