Canberra’s property market has recorded its third consecutive monthly decline, with home prices falling 0.5 per cent in July according to the latest PropTrack Home Price Index.

The July fall was one of the largest among Australia’s capital cities, matched only by Adelaide and Hobart and exceeded only by Sydney, where prices slipped 0.6 per cent.

Canberra home values are now 0.9 per cent lower than a year ago and sit 2.8 per cent below their February peak.

The capital’s median home value is now $854,000.

Houses led the decline in July, with values falling 0.6 per cent compared with a 0.3 per cent drop for units. Over the past year, however, unit prices have recorded the steeper decline, down 1.8 per cent compared with a 0.7 per cent fall for houses.

Nationally, home prices fell for a fourth consecutive month, declining 0.3 per cent in July as high interest rates and cost-of-living pressures continued to weigh on the market.

Despite the recent downturn, prices remain higher than a year ago across most capital cities. Canberra joined Sydney and Melbourne as the only capitals to record annual price declines.

Over the longer term, Canberra has also been one of Australia’s weakest-performing capital city markets. Home prices have risen just 8.4 per cent over the past five years, well behind cities such as Perth (92.9 per cent), Brisbane (78.6 per cent) and Adelaide (76.9 per cent).

PropTrack senior economist Anne Flaherty said high interest rates, reduced borrowing capacity and ongoing cost-of-living pressures continued to affect buyer confidence, with further price falls likely in the coming months.