It’s only taken one hike from the RBA to end the party for Aussie house prices, which rolled over in May, falling for the first time in almost two years. At the five-city aggregate level, prices fell by a modest 0.3%, led down by larger falls in Sydney (-1%) and Melbourne (-0.7%). After a massive run, Canberra also saw a monthly fall.

Other cities continued to increased, such as Adelaide and Brisbane (and regional areas). Logically, higher priced markets are more at risk to interest rate rises. I’d wager a $500,000 property will suffer less falls than a $3 million one (percentage wise) if interest rates rise. This sits consistently with our most expensive markets taking a fall. Who knows how deep the downturn will be, a lot of hinges on just how hard the RBA goes with interest rate hikes. If they empty the clip, no doubt there will be blood on the floor…
Outside of property, shares and crypto remain under pressure. Commodity stocks have been relatively strong performers, benefitting from inflation on the products they sell. Tech stocks remain under heavy pressure after being market darlings for years. It figures…