Australia home prices fall for seventh month, led by big cities

Australia's property prices fell for a seventh straight month in April, as the heat continues to come out of residential markets in the nation's two largest cities.

National housing prices fell 0.1 per cent in April from March, CoreLogic Inc data released on Tuesday showed. The pace of decline in Sydney's once-sizzling market quickened, with values falling 0.4 per cent last month, to be down 3.4 per cent from a year earlier. Prices in Melbourne also fell 0.4 per cent last month.

Prices across the eight state and territory capitals fell 0.3 per cent in April from a year earlier, the first decline since November 2012.

Tighter mortgage-lending standards, regulatory restrictions on investor loans and affordability constraints have weighed on the Sydney market, with few predicting a quick rebound in prices. As prices in the largest cities have soared out of reach of many buyers, regional areas are now outpacing the capitals.