Australia home prices set record in April, sales volume slows on tariff risk, Cotality data shows

SYDNEY, May 1 (Reuters) - Australia's property prices hit a record in April although U.S. tariff risks and election uncertainty led to a slump in the sales and listings volume, property consultant Cotality said on Thursday.

Prices rose 0.3% in April from March to a new peak of A$ 825,349 ($528,470.96), compared with a 0.4% gain the previous month, figures from Cotality, formerly CoreLogic, showed.

The monthly rise was broad-based, with prices in Darwin jumping a whopping 1.1%. Prices in both Sydney and Melbourne rose 0.2%.

Australia's property market has ended a year-long slide earlier than anyone thought, boosted by strong immigration and limited supply.

But there are signs that the rebound, helped by the first rate cut in over four years in February, could be losing some potency, Cotality research director Tim Lawless said.

The number of weekly auctions and new listings slumped to the lowest since 2019 when the housing market was nearing a cyclical trough. Auction clearance rates over the last week also slid to the lowest since December.

"Household confidence slipped in April, with the U.S.’s ‘Liberation Day’ tariff announcements and the upcoming federal election causing uncertainty. It is likely this may be causing some buyers and sellers to delay their decisions," Lawless said.

"With further rate cuts likely as soon as May 20th, and a level of certainty returning to the market after the federal election on May 3rd, we expect a further modest rise in values for 2025."

Investors are fully expecting a quarter-point rate cut from the Reserve Bank of Australia at its May meeting given the darkening outlook for global growth largely due to U.S. tariffs and after a slowdown in core inflation.

Policy proposals to help first-home buyers would help lift demand, but stretched housing affordability, still-cautious lending standards, and a pullback in population growth are negative factors for prices, Cotality said.

($1 = 1.5618 Australian dollars)