National home prices hit new record in July despite winter lull

National home prices are expected to get a further boost if interest rates are cut next week, as new data from PropTrack shows that home prices hit a new peak in July.

The property market will receive a boost if the RBA cuts interest rates in August, as expected. Picture: supplied

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National home prices are expected to get a boost if the official interest rate is cut next week, as new data from PropTrack shows that home prices hit a new peak in July.

During the month property values in the capital cities grew by 0.3 per cent, with Adelaide recording the strongest growth over July at 0.9 per cent.

Hobart (0.5 per cent), Brisbane (0.4 per cent) and Perth (0.4 per cent) also posted strong growth.

But in Sydney, Melbourne and Darwin, monthly price growth was more subdued. Canberra was the only capital city where home prices fell, slipping by 0.1 per cent.

According to the PropTrack Home Price Index July 2025, regional areas outperformed their capital-city counterparts in most states, up 0.4 per cent over the month and 6.5 per cent over the year.

Nationally, home prices hit a new record high of $827,000 last month, with the median value of a house now sitting at $915,000, but, according to PropTrack, the pace of growth has started to slow.

REA Group senior economist Anne Flaherty said the “surprise decision” by the Reserve Bank to leave rates on hold in July “could be a contributing factor, and so too could the fact that we’re in winter at the moment and we don’t see as much market activity as we would see during the pre-Easter and spring seasons”.

REA Group senior economist Anne Flaherty says a cut to interest rates next week would likely ‘boost’ home price growth. Picture: supplied

SQM Research managing director Louis Christopher cautioned against reading too much into the slowdown in the pace of growth. “Due to the winter period, there tends to be less volume of listings in the marketplace but buyers generally are still reasonably active in July,” he said.

“So it might have to do with a little bit of seasonality, but I’d be very careful about reading too much into one month’s worth of numbers to suggest the housing market (is) slowing down (because) all the indicators I’ve seen suggest the markets are actually picking up.”

Ms Flaherty said a cut to interest rates next week would “boost” home price growth, adding she expected home prices “to break into new territory later this year”.

Mr Christopher said strong population growth and interest rate cuts were driving record house prices across the country. “Confidence has been improving towards the housing market as the year has progressed,” he said, adding that auction clearance rates had been rising, especially in Sydney and Melbourne.

Mr Christopher said a rate cut next week, which is widely tipped by economists, would increase “confidence across the country for housing stock”, leading to “an ­acceleration in dwelling prices” in the second half of the year.