Australia home prices nudge higher in August but quarterly pace slows

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian home prices nudged higher in August, posting a 19th straight monthly rise, though the pace of growth showed some signs of slowing, data showed on Monday.

Figures from property consultant CoreLogic showed national home prices rose 0.5% in August, slightly above the downwardly revised 0.3% rise in July. Prices, which have continued to hit record highs since bottoming out early last year, are up 7.1% from a year ago.

But CoreLogic said the quarterly increase of 1.3% is now less than half the rate of growth in the same three-month period a year ago.

"While seasonality may have contributed to weaker value growth through winter, affordability constraints are a key factor behind the broader slowdown," CoreLogic's Head of Research Eliza Owen said in a statement.

Still, there is more demand for housing than supply though the market was becoming "increasingly balanced," Owen said

Rates of increase across the cities remained diverse as prices rose 2.0% in Perth, followed by a 1.4% increase in Adelaide and 1.1% in Brisbane. Sydney rose a mild 0.3%, while prices dipped in Canberra, Melbourne, Darwin and Hobart.

A Reuters poll of property analysts last week showed average home prices in Australia will rise more than 6% this year, before moderating slightly in coming years.

The Reserve Bank of Australia has raised interest rates by 425 basis points since May 2022 to tame inflation, but the gains in the real estate market have defied expectations, helped by record immigration and a limited housing supply.

Markets are pricing in a 78% probability of an easing in interest rates by the end of the year.

(Reporting by Renju Jose in Sydney; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

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