Australia home prices fall for fifth month in February

Sydney

HOME prices across Australia's major cities fell for a fifth straight month in February as tighter rules on investment lending chilled the once red-hot Sydney market, a relief to regulators but a weight on consumer spending power.

Property consultant CoreLogic said on Thursday that its index of home prices for the combined capital cities slipped 0.3 per cent in February after it fell 0.5 per cent in January.