Brisbane catching up, but overvalued Sydney still strongest of the capital cities: Onthehouse's John Edwards

Sydney monthly house price growth slowed in May to just 0.24%, but is still up 17.4% annually to an $823,000 median house price, according to the vendor research website, onthehouse.com.au.

The monthly Sydney growth in April was 3.29%; in March it was 1.14% and 3.52% in February.

House values in Melbourne entered negative territory for May, falling 0.03%, but still recorded 9.45% growth in the past 12 months to its $627,500 median house price.

Perth, Adelaide, Darwin and Hobart were also showing mild negative median house price easing in May.

Perth had the biggest house decline, with a 1.9% fall in May.

Sydney's 17.4% annual growth tops all the capitals, with Melbourne holding onto second place, with Brisbane in third place with the strongest May growth, albeit 0.41%. Brisbane had 1.36% growth in April and 0.98% growth in March, having briefly lost ground in February.

Slower growth rates would be beneficial for the economy overall, as the data signals that the market is moving away from a potentially dangerous boom, John Edwards, the consulting analyst for onthehouse.com.au said.

“With any luck, the statistics will continue on this new trend of lower rates of growth over the next few months," Edwards said.

John Edwards describes the Sydney market as still "overvalued and in reality too expensive."

Source: onthehouse.com.au