Australia's property market is showing signs of cooling, with national home prices down in the December quarter and conditions expected to remain softer throughout 2018.
The national median house price index fell 0.3 per cent in December, weighed down by major falls in Sydney and Darwin and modest weakness across Melbourne and Perth, figures from property data group Corelogic show.
The fall contributed to an overall slowdown in national home value growth for the year, with prices rising a mere 4.2 per cent in 2017 compared to 5.8 per cent in 2016 and 9.2 per cent in 2015.
Head of research Tim Lawless says the transition towards weaker housing market conditions has been clear but gradual, and has been driven by the capital cities which combined tracked half a per cent lower over the December quarter.
"Sydney's housing market has become the most significant drag on the headline growth figures," Lawless said in a statement on Tuesday.