Home prices slide for sixth straight month as rate hikes bite

Home prices have fallen for six months in a row, taking property values back to the same level as a year ago.Australia’s national median home value declined by 0.2% last month, according to the latest realestate.com.au Home Price Report, with interest rate pressures weighing on house prices and more homes on the market across much of the country.Values at the national level are back to where they were a year ago, with prices down 3.3% from the peak reached in March.The sixth straight month of price declines has extended the downturn which began after the Reserve Bank started raising interest rates in February this year.Borrowers have been hit with three more hikes since then, including Tuesday’s 25 basis point increase which took the cash rate to 4.6% – a 15-year high.The rate rises have reduced the amount that buyers can borrow to purchase a home and further strained housing affordability, which has sunk to a record low.Tightened lending conditions have coincided with property tax changes in the federal budget in May that reduced investor demand and have taken much of the heat out of the market in recent months.Home prices in Sydney have declined about 5% in the past year, accordi...