Via the HIA:
The tight lending environment has put a squeeze on the housing market prices particularly in Sydney and Melbourne are responding accordingly. The combined impact of falling home prices and restricted access to credit are now being felt in the home building market. HIA New Home Sales fell by a further 0.8 per cent during October 2018 and sales are 13.9 per cent lower than the same time a year ago.
The decline in new home sales was driven by New South Wales (down by 4.9 per cent) while South Australia (down by 5.6 per cent) and Western Australia (down by 10.7 per cent) also detracted from the total. These falls were partially balanced by offsetting improvements in monthly sales in Victoria (up by 4.9 per cent) and Queensland (up by 2.5 per cent). Private sector approvals fell 2.7 per cent during September with a total of 9,266 for the month.