Australia's home prices post first annual fall in 6 years

Sydney

HOME prices across Australia's major cities eased for an eighth straight month in May as tighter lending standards at banks cooled demand in Sydney and Melbourne, although regional markets continued to tick higher.

Property consultant CoreLogic said on Friday its index of home prices for the combined capital cities slipped 0.1 per cent in May, after a 0.4 per cent dip in April. That left nationwide prices down 0.4 per cent for the year, the first annual decline since 2012.