Sydney remains the nation's most expensive property market but cooling prices have brought first-home buyers five months closer to owning a home, a new report says.
First-time property seekers will spend six years and two months saving for a deposit on an average $650,000 entry-level house in greater Sydney, down from six years and seven months a year ago.
Friday's First Home Buyers Report from Domain also says five months has been shaved off the time needed to save the $560,000 needed for an average entry-level unit in Sydney.
The NSW capital was the biggest improver according Domain's research, which measured how long it would take couples in each Australian city to save 20 per cent of their net pay to buy an entry-level property.
Affordability also improved for entry-level houses in Melbourne, Perth and Darwin, while all capital cities but Hobart had reduced savings times for deposits on apartments.
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"First-home buyers are operating in a market that has less urgency to purchase - there are fewer investors to compete against, foreign buyer interest has declined, prices are still falling and there are a wider choice of homes on the market," said Domain senior research analyst Nicola Powell.
"Purchasing conditions have inevitability improved."
The national median home price fell 0.7 per cent in February to $524,478, according to data released by CoreLogic, a level last seen in September 2016.
Economists said the pricing weakness was at levels lower than when then RBA started cutting rates in 2008 and 2011, with the long-running reduction in investment lending the main culprit.
