Sydney property prices plummet more than $116,000 in eight months

Sydney's property market has been hammered hardest of all the capital cities, with latest data showing average home prices have tumbled 10 per cent since the market's peak in February.

The steep double-digit decline follows six successive cash rate hikes by the Reserve Bank, the equivalent of $116,500 shaved from the value of Sydney homes.

Property firm CoreLogic said Melbourne's property values had fallen 6.4 per cent since January, while Brisbane was down 6.1 per cent in just four months.

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CoreLogic's Tim Lawless said it was no surprise Sydney had been buffeted most by the current headwinds, given it's the country's most expensive housing market and was more susceptible to rising interest rates.

Prices in Sydney's were already dropping when the rate hiking cycle began, but the pace of decline accelerated sharply after the first increase in May.

"The good news" for Sydney home owners, Lawless said, is the rate of decline slowed through October, with values down 1.3 per cent compared to 2.2 per cent in the previous monthly cycle.

However, the market will surely be further spooked after internal documents released through a Freedom of Information request showed the RBA is privately forecasting national home values to plunge by 20 per cent by 2024.

"We're now anticipating housing prices to decline over the next few years," the documents stated.

"That reflects the ongoing slowing in momentum in the market and the steepening of expectations for the future path of interest rates."

The next RBA cash rate decision is in eight days, on November 1.

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The CoreLogic data showed Hobart and Canberra are down more than 4 per cent, while Adelaide and Perth have declined less than 1 per cent since their August peaks.

Darwin is the only capital city where housing values haven't begun to trend lower.

There is little joy to be found in the rental market, either.

Over the past three months, rents nationally have risen at the fastest quarterly pace ever recorded, with median weekly prices surging 4.3 per cent compared to June.

CoreLogic has suggested tenants may soon hit their financial limit, particularly those living in regional areas.