Australia's red hot housing market shows first signs of slowing

[SYDNEY] House prices in Australia increased at their slowest pace in 16 months in April, offering a measure of relief to both homebuyers and regulators after a breakneck run.

Home values in Australia's combined capital cities rose 0.1 per cent in April from March, according to data from CoreLogic Inc released on Monday. The slowest monthly growth since December 2015 comes after regulators tightened lending restrictions amid fears of a housing bubble.

Still, it's too early to call a peak in the market, CoreLogic's head of research Tim Lawless said, adding it was only one month of "soft results" and several public holidays slowed sales.

Prices in Sydney, Australia's largest city, were unchanged in April, though still 16 per cent higher than a year earlier.

BLOOMBERG