Australia's property market is experiencing a rare price correction, driven by rising interest rates and less investor-friendly tax settings, with most capital cities recording falls over winter. Sydney has seen the sharpest declines, and economists warn that persistently high inflation could trigger further rate hikes, deepening the downturn. The falls are uneven across the country — Brisbane, Perth, and Darwin still show annual gains of more than 10% — and analysts note the drops have done little to improve overall affordability, given that higher mortgage rates have sharply reduced buyers' borrowing capacity, with one assessment describing the correction as merely "a flick off the top after a 50% surge since the pandemic."