Dwelling values fell by 1.4 percent over May, according to the RP Data-Rismark Home Value Index.
The 1.4 percent fall brings the cumulative decline from January to May 2012 to 2.2 percent. Overall values have decreased by 5.3 percent over the past 12 months.
With the exception of Adelaide, where dwelling values increased by 1.2 percent over May, values declined in every capital city.
Melbourne saw the biggest drop, with dwelling values decreasing by 2.7 percent over the month.
Tim Lawless, RP Data research director, says units have been more resilient to value falls than houses.
“Unit values across the combined capitals increased in May and they are up by 1.3 percent over the first five months of the year. Based on median prices, unit prices are generally around 15 to 20 percent lower than house prices. Investment yields also tend to be higher and units are often located more strategically compared with their detached counterparts,” Lawless says.
Lawless says Premium dwelling values have fallen by 6.1 percent over the 12 months ending April 2012, while dwelling values at the affordable end of the spectrum are down by just 1.5 percent.
He says rental yields are higher now compared to a year ago across every capital city.
“In some cities where rents have increased meaningfully, such as Darwin and Perth, gross rental yields have improved by 50 basis points or more.”
He also says vendor discounting has reduced from a peak of -7.9 percent to -7.1 percent, “which suggests that vendors are becoming more realistic about price expectations on their home… The typical capital city house is now taking 63 days to sell compared with 70 days last month.”
There were approximately 308,500 homes advertised for sale across Australia during May, which is almost 9 percent more than this time last year, according to RP Data.
